"Is There Any Topic Hotter Than Martial Law?"... Criticism Pours In on Web Novel Contest, Leading to Final Decision

Controversial Web Novel Platform Hosting Martial Law Contest
"Deep Apology... Will Operate Internal Feedback Channel"

A web novel platform company held a contest themed around martial law but withdrew the plan and apologized within a day after receiving a flood of criticism.

On the 17th, the web novel platform Mopik stated on X (formerly Twitter), "We deeply apologize to everyone who expressed concerns and criticism regarding the 'martial law' contest." They continued, "We deeply regret not handling the emergency martial law situation more carefully and seriously, and sincerely apologize for causing worry and concern due to our insufficient consideration and approach. Unlike in the past, we thought that expressing the fear, dread, and sorrow felt through martial law via creative works might be a way to share emotions with more people and heal pain."

Mopik acknowledged, "We recognize and deeply reflect on our failure to conduct sufficient review of the planning and expression methods, the hurt caused to many people, and the fact that we made the heavy historical event of martial law appear as just a theme." They added, "Once again, we sincerely apologize."

They also announced plans to strengthen internal review procedures to prevent recurrence. Mopik promised, "We will establish guidelines for judging contest themes to review the temporal and social significance of themes. We will operate internal feedback channels so that as many people as possible can review the appropriateness of themes and conduct prior opinion collection processes."

The web novel platform 'Mopic', which held a contest themed around martial law. X (X, formerly Twitter)

Previously, Mopik introduced the 'martial law contest' the day before, saying, "Is there any theme hotter than martial law recently? Shall we write a novel?" The prize money was 500,000 won for first place, 300,000 won for second, 100,000 won for third, and 100,000 won for a special prize. Regarding the theme, Mopik explained, "Any story involving a martial law situation." Specifically, ▲ romance occurring during martial law ▲ stories about possession by a president just before martial law ▲ stories about reincarnation as a low-ranking martial law soldier ▲ stories about citizens harmed by martial law soldiers, with no genre restrictions.

The judging criteria were ▲ whether the character’s individuality and charm make readers want to keep reading ▲ whether the story immerses readers and makes them want to click the next episode ▲ whether the work is sustainable and expandable. The contest period was until the 16th of next month, with results scheduled to be announced on the 20th of next month.

However, netizens responded with various reactions such as, "I am very disappointed in platform members who treat serious social issues lightly," "The mere fact that they casually used the word martial law in this situation shows their level," "The aftermath of martial law is still ongoing, so what nonsense is this," "The problem is that no one noticed the issues," and "I will boycott."

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