Webtoon 'Helper' Misogyny Controversy... Is Hate Also Freedom of Expression? [Kim Gayeon's Perspective Twist]

Webtoon 'Helper2' Controversy Over Misogynistic Depictions Including Child Sexual Exploitation and Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault
Korea Communications Standards Commission Complaints: 594 in 2015 → 2,893 in 2016
Cartoon Industry Sexual Violence Countermeasures Committee: "Pornographic Depictions of Violence Against Women Dilute Crime Severity"

Detailed page of Naver Webtoon 'Helper 2: Killberos,' recently embroiled in controversy over misogyny / Photo by Naver Webtoon capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Recently, following Kian84's webtoon 'Return to Campus King,' Sak-ui's 'Helper 2: Cerberus' (Helper 2) has come under fire for misogynistic depictions. As controversies over hateful expressions continue, discussions about creators' freedom of expression are also ongoing. Despite similar controversies, webtoon platforms have maintained a lukewarm attitude, raising questions about the platforms' responsibility.

In episode 247 of Helper 2, released on the 9th as paid content, a scene depicting a female elderly character being restrained naked and injected with drugs, among other sadistic portrayals, sparked controversy. In addition to this scene, it was revealed that the webtoon contains numerous misogynistic scenes including sexualization of minors, sexual violence, and illegal sexual exploitation. The controversy has further intensified as some characters in the webtoon are reportedly based on real celebrities. Even considering that the work is intended for adults, critics argue that the level of violent depiction has crossed the line.

Helper 2 is rated for viewers aged 18 and over and is a fighting comic set in the fictional city of Ganashi. It has been serialized since January 2016 and remains highly popular, ranking 4th in demand webtoons based on male popularity and views as of the 14th.

The online community 'DC Inside Helper Minor Gallery' (Gallery), which serves as a fan cafe for Helper 2, issued a statement on the 11th saying, "Even we are sickened by Helper's misogynistic and low-level sexist expressions," and criticized, "It is clearly problematic even for us men that such sexist webtoons are serialized openly on a mega platform like Naver without any regulation just because they are rated 19+."

The scenes they pointed out include ▲sexual assault using drugs and murder of women (episodes 13-21, 40) ▲sexual assault of minors (episode 94) ▲illegal filming and distribution, group sexual assault (episode 91) ▲depictions of prostitution and sexual objectification of female middle school students (episodes 102, 158). The gallery also criticized that there are many other inappropriate depictions including seriously misogynistic dialogues and scenes.

A scene criticized for misogynistic depiction in the webtoon 'Helper 2: Killberos' / Photo by Online Community Capture

As a result, readers are raising their voices in criticism, saying "Hate cannot be disguised as freedom of expression." They emphasize that contempt and hatred toward socially vulnerable groups such as women, disabled people, foreigners, and children should never be justified for any reason. On social media platforms like Twitter, hashtag campaigns such as '#Stop_Misogyny_in_Webtoons,' '#Hate_Speech_in_Webtoons,' '#Freedom_of_Hate,' and '#Paper_Dolls_Change_People' are ongoing.

As the domestic webtoon industry expands not only within Korea but also into the global market, there are calls to establish guidelines for gender sensitivity and human rights awareness, and to create systems that actively review hateful and derogatory content.

The problem is that there is no legal basis to sanction such content, and the platforms' internal review systems remain insufficient. Naver Webtoon acknowledges the criticism but maintains that it is difficult to intervene in the creator's expression.

The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) signed an agreement in 2012 with the Webtoon Self-Regulation Committee, a review body of the Korea Cartoonists Association. Complaints received by the KCSC are reviewed and then handled by the Webtoon Self-Regulation Committee. According to the KCSC's 2017 report on "Complaints about Webtoon Sexuality and Violence over the Past Three Years," the number of complaints surged from 594 in 2015 to 2,893 in 2016. However, only 39 cases were actually acted upon.

The hashtag campaign '#Stop_Misogyny_in_Webtoons' continuing on SNS / Photo by Twitter screenshot

The Cartoon Industry Sexual Violence Countermeasure Committee (Countermeasure Committee) posted on its official Twitter on the 11th, stating, "Some say 'Are you saying no crimes should be depicted in webtoons?' but 'direction' plays a major role in comics," and condemned, "Direction reflects the creator's intent, and depicting scenes of sexual assault and violence against women in a 'pornographic' manner dilutes the severity of the crime itself."

They added, "While there are subdivisions of sexual content, guidelines on violent content are very vague," and pointed out, "What women demand is not 'draw all child-friendly comics.' They question why female characters always have to be sexual assault targets and why sexual harassment heard in real life should be normalized in comics."

Earlier, on the 24th of last month, the Countermeasure Committee released a statement titled "Those who claim mocking socially vulnerable groups is 'freedom of expression' are bringing a dark age to the cartoon industry," criticizing, "The demand not to hate the vulnerable is not state oppression or 'censorship.' Do not confuse 'direction' due to satire with simple 'mockery of the vulnerable.'"

Meanwhile, Naver Customer Center stated, "In the case of Helper 2, direction is carried out with viewers aged 18 and over in mind, but as the work's influence grows, we will pay more attention to direct and indirect expressions within the work and continuously strive to improve direction and story development."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.