In Public Places Every 5 Minutes... Farmers' Group Protests Garlic Promotion Video Sparking 'Sexuality Controversy'

Video Streaming Halted After Criticism Over 'Sexual Expression Implications'
Hongseong-gun Officials Say "We Will Carefully Monitor and Exercise Caution"

A scene from the Hongsan Garlic promotional video. Photo by YouTube capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] A promotional video for Hongsan Garlic produced by Hongseong County, Chungnam Province, has sparked controversy over its sexual content. Farmers' organizations criticized the video, saying it not only caused discomfort to viewers but also damaged the image of agricultural products.

Previously, in 2020, Hongseong County released a 30-second video promoting Hongsan Garlic on platforms such as YouTube. Starting from July 1, just before the garlic harvest season, the video was also broadcast on large TVs at bus terminals in Seoul and Daejeon.

Citizens criticized the video, saying that the lines spoken by a female actress hugging garlic evoked sexual connotations. In response, Hongseong County stopped broadcasting the video at bus terminals and removed it from YouTube on the 29th of last month.

Farmers' organizations also demanded an apology from Hongseong County regarding the video. The Chungnam Provincial Federation of the Korean Women Peasants Association (President Seo Jim-mi) and the Chungnam Provincial Federation of the Korean Peasants League (Chairman Lee Jin-gu) issued a statement on the 1st titled "Condemnation of Hongseong County's Sexual and Inappropriate Agricultural Product Promotional Video and Demand for Apology," stating, "This video, which was broadcast every 5 minutes in public places, contains sexual expressions that go beyond suggestiveness, causing discomfort to viewers and severely damaging the image of agricultural products painstakingly cultivated by farmers."

These organizations added, "What is even more surprising is that this video was produced and promoted by a local government that should be implementing gender equality policies for local residents, using public funds. The fact that the local government created and promoted a sexually suggestive and inappropriate agricultural product promotional video with taxpayers' money clearly reveals Hongseong County's low level of awareness regarding gender equality," emphasizing, "Hongseong County, which sexualized both men and women as objects and even sexualized the agricultural products painstakingly produced by farmers, must immediately apologize to the residents and establish measures to prevent recurrence."

A Hongseong County official told the media, "We received complaints that there was a problem with screening the video in public places, so we stopped broadcasting it on the 29th of last month," adding, "In the future, when producing promotional videos, we will carefully ensure that the agricultural products, which farmers have cultivated with dedication, are properly and effectively promoted."

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