"Failed to Filter Out Hateful Webtoon"... Platform Accountability Under Fire Due to 'Pong Pong Man' Controversy
this article is originally in Korean and has been mtl and edited into English here. It’s not going to be 1:1 but the basic info should be there. If you notice any discrepancies please lmk and I’ll fix it asap. as always thanks for your help and understanding everyone.
By Namyoung Kim
published oct 6th 2024
Naver Webtoon is facing criticism for allowing a webtoon containing hate speech and content inciting gender conflict to pass the first round of its competition. Concerns are being raised about whether the platform, as a major content distribution channel, is taking proper responsibility for its influence.
Naver Webtoon (referred to as "Naver Web") has been hosting the 2024 Naver Webtoon Greatest Contest on Earth since last month to discover new writers and works. The work causing controversy is a webtoon titled Pong Pong Man in Another World(‘이세계 퐁퐁남’/isekai pomgpongnam). The story is about a man who, after discovering his wife has been unfaithful, realizes that he has become what society calls a "Pong Pong Man" and then travels to another dimension (a different world).
The term "Pong Pong Man" is an online slang referring to a married man who is compared to dishwashing detergent (Pong Pong), used to "clean up" after a promiscuous woman he marries. The term ridicules an innocent man as the "final clean-up" for a "promiscuous woman," and is a typical example of misogynistic hate speech that fuels gender conflict. The published webtoon contains scenes such as a woman who, despite cheating, self-harms to be recognized as a victim of domestic violence while laughing behind the scenes, and characters stating, "The current law is overly favorable to women."
This work passed the first round of Naver Webtoon's editorial review and is awaiting the second round of evaluation. If it passes the second round, it will become eligible for the final prize. Over the weekend, however, the controversy intensified on social media and online communities, with many criticizing Naver for allowing a work that promotes gender conflict and hatred to pass through their filters. Numerous "proof posts" were shared, claiming that people had left protest messages on Naver Webtoon.
(screenshot of the webtoon that was in the article)
In September of last year, a Naver Webtoon work titled True Education faced heavy criticism from English-speaking users for its use of racial slurs and derogatory expressions toward Black people. At the time, Naver Webtoon removed all episodes of True Education from its North American service and deleted the problematic 125th episode in Korea. In 2020, another work, Helper 2, was discontinued due to its misogynistic content and extreme violence.
A Naver Webtoon representative explained the reason why the work passed the first round, saying, "There was no disqualifying content in the first episode alone. We are aware of the various opinions surrounding this work, and we will conduct a comprehensive review for the next round of judgment." The representative added, "If there are reports of excessively sexual or violent content in Challenge Comics or Best Challenge works, we take measures such as blinding or deletion. However, since this is a work in progress for the contest, it is difficult to request modifications from the author at this stage."
Naver Webtoon is Hosting the 2024 Naver Webtoon Greatest Contest on Earth. Screenshot from Naver Webtoon.
Currently, the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) defers complaints about webtoons to the Webtoon Self-Regulation Committee, following a "post-regulation" system that considers creative freedom. The committee reviews complaints and passes the results to its partner platforms (like Naver Webtoon), which then take necessary actions and report back to the committee.
Criticism has emerged, however, that platforms like Naver Webtoon, as distribution channels, are not fully living up to their responsibilities. According to analysis by Representative Hyung-doo Choi of the People Power Party, based on data from the KCSC, a total of 1,028 complaints were filed regarding webtoons between 2019 and August 2023, but only 495 cases resulted in self-regulation measures.
In the end, the challenge for platforms is how to strike a balance between creative freedom and regulating hate speech or explicit content. In June of this year, Naver Webtoon, under the name Webtoon Entertainment, was listed on NASDAQ, positioning itself as a global content platform. Manga critic Sang-min Sung commented, "A contest entry isn't going to be perfect from the start, and comics can’t always use polished language. However, looking at the problematic expressions, it seems clear that the author crossed a line." He added, "As a global platform, Naver Webtoon needs to establish clear guidelines for the content that is posted on its site."