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Mediating Misogyny pp 151–169Cite as

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Misogyny for Male Solidarity: Online Hate Discourse Against Women in South Korea

Abstract

Kim explores how misogynistic discourses have been constructed and reproduced in a male-dominated online community Ilbe (http://www.ilbe.com/) in South Korea. First, the chapter examines how the Ilbe community excludes female users and controls its male-dominated atmosphere. Second, by focusing on the figure of the kimchi-nyeo (girl/woman), the chapter investigates how online misogyny in South Korea develops a social discourse that reinforces gender stereotypes and justifies gender discrimination. Kim further demonstrates how hate speech toward Korean women is often accomplished through racialized comparisons with foreign, especially Japanese, women. Finally, the growth in online misogyny is analyzed in relation to a crisis in hegemonic masculinity; specifically, Kim argues that consistent production and distribution of misogynistic discourse serve to restore male bonds and hegemonic masculinity in South Korea.

Keywords

  • Online misogyny
  • Hate discourse
  • Misogynistic hate speech
  • Online culture
  • Online community
  • Hegemonic masculinity
  • Gender relations
  • South Korea

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  • DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-72917-6_8
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Notes

  1. 1.

    Since military service is compulsory for all able-bodied adult men, the issue is often read as gendered in Korea. A telling example is the controversy surrounding the army veterans’ advantage system, which privileged veterans in terms of the civil service exam and hiring and was declared unconstitutional, on the grounds that it violated the equal rights of women and the disabled, in 1999, though the topic remains highly controversial online.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radio-Television-Film, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Jinsook Kim

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  1. Jinsook Kim
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Media Arts, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA

    Prof. Jacqueline Ryan Vickery

  2. Mayborn School of Journalism, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA

    Prof. Tracy Everbach

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Kim, J. (2018). Misogyny for Male Solidarity: Online Hate Discourse Against Women in South Korea. In: Vickery, J., Everbach, T. (eds) Mediating Misogyny. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72917-6_8

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