"Should You Get Hit If Your Hair Is Short?"... Wave of Participation in '#Women_Shortcut_Campaign'

'#Women_Shortcut_Challenge' Trending on SNS
"Gold Medalist Also Attacked by Anti-Feminists"

Recently, a woman working part-time at a convenience store was assaulted by a man in his 20s simply because she had short hair. In response, outraged women have launched a 'Women’s Short Cut Campaign' on social media (SNS).

Women verifying their short haircuts by tagging '#Women_Shortcut_Campaign' on Instagram.
[Photo by Instagram]

Earlier, on the 4th, a man in his 20s, Mr. A, was arrested by the police on charges of assaulting a woman in her 20s, Ms. B, who was working part-time at a convenience store in Hadae-dong, Jinju City, in the early morning hours. Mr. A assaulted Ms. B by punching and kicking her because her hair was short. A customer in their 50s, Mr. C, who tried to intervene, was also reportedly assaulted multiple times.

During the incident, Mr. A reportedly told Ms. B, "Since your hair is short, you must be a feminist," and added, "Feminists need to be beaten a little."

Certification post of '#Women_Shortcut_Campaign' posted on X (formerly Twitter). [Photo by X capture]

Women who learned about the incident have raised their voices in anger across various SNS platforms. On the 6th, posts featuring the hashtag '#Women_ShortCut_Campaign' appeared on X (formerly Twitter), where women shared photos of their short hair, commonly called 'short cuts.'

Women responded with comments such as, "The reality that you can be assaulted just because your hair is short is absurd," and "Do you have to be beaten for having short hair?" Some said, "My mother has a short cut, I have a short cut, and now everyone I know around me has a short cut," adding, "Why do people have to be mistreated just because they want to do what they like?"

This so-called 'Short Cut Campaign' is not the first of its kind. During the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, when national athlete Ansan appeared with a short cut, some male netizens criticized her as a 'feminist,' and the campaign spread on SNS. At that time, netizens criticized Ansan for attending a women’s university, having a short cut, and using expressions like 'ung-eung-ung' and 'o-jo-o-eok' on social media, claiming she was definitely a feminist.

As indiscriminate criticism toward the athlete continued, body psychologist Ms. Han Ji-young proposed the hashtag '#Women_ShortCut_Campaign' on her SNS, writing, "Female athletes are being asked absurd questions like 'Why do you cut your hair?' or 'Are you a feminist?' just because they are women. More women with short cuts need to appear on stage and be visible."

Foreign Media: "58.6% of Korean Men in Their 20s Oppose Feminism... Gender Equality Issues Must Be Addressed"

Women participating in a protest condemning the biased investigation of illegal filming (commonly known as 'molka') held at Hyehwa Station in 2018.

Foreign media also paid attention to the situation unfolding in Korea. Major outlets reported that "a Korean gold medalist is being attacked by an online anti-feminism movement because of her hair length."

Laura Bicker, BBC’s Seoul correspondent, cited statistics on her SNS stating, "58.6% of Korean men in their 20s strongly oppose feminism," adding, "For some reason, 'feminism' has become a dirty word in Korea." She evaluated, "Korea must confront this issue head-on to tackle gender equality problems and address the low birthrate issue."

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