The story of the survivors of sexual violence in the cartoon world in 2014
Interview with artist Bejang and Didam
about the case of sexual violence that was first publicized in the comic book world. Hyein Kim, Eunbyul Lee Education Trainee” alt=”Deedham (left) and Bejang, the first comic book about sexual assault, which was publicized in the book . Hyein Kim, Eunbyul Lee Education Trainee” />
This is the first case of sexual violence that was publicized in the comic book world. <나, 여기 있어요>Jak and Didam (left in the photo) and Bejang. Hyein Kim, Eunbyul Lee Education Trainee
“Many victims of sexual violence have fear that they will be buried in the industry. The book means’I’m still here in the comic book industry’. I want to give a message that the victim is not disappearing and is living her own life.” (Bjang)
On the 6th, I met two writers who wrote and drew manga (2020) at the office of a publishing company in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Story and painting artist Bejang (penname, 28) and painting artist Didam (penname, 36) are the main characters. The two writers met during a campaign to eradicate sexual violence in the comic book world and published a book together. Writer Bejang is a “manga-related survivor of sexual violence”, the person who brought the conviction for forcibly harassing cartoonist Jung Amugae in 2014. This book is based on the experience of author Bejang. The book came to the world on December 25 last year after being selected for the ‘2020 Diversity Manga Production Support Project’ by the Korea Manga Film Promotion Agency.
The first sexual violence case made public in the cartoon world
It wasn’t easy to come up with a hard memory in a book. Author Bejang said, “It was already six years ago. I thought it was okay, but when I reminisced about the past while working on it, I thought of it like a trauma. Sometimes I even worked while crying. I contacted the artist Didam, and I just squeezed it,” he said.
” alt=”Book ” />
book <나, 여기 있어요>
This work calmly depicts the experiences of the 20-year-old protagonist’Local’. With the dream of becoming a cartoonist, he will receive apprenticeship education from a famous cartoonist. Jeong Han-seop, a famous webtoon writer and director of the Korea Cartoonist Association, uses abusive words, assaults, and sexual harassment against local students who go to work at the office. He doesn’t give him a proper salary because he teaches his job. The local eventually sued the cartoonist for forcibly, leading to a conviction of eight months in prison. The names of the characters are different, but this is what the artist Bejang experienced in person. This is the first case of sexual violence that has been publicized in the comics and webtoon world. This was in 2014, before the start of the Me Too movement in the culture and art world, and it was a more difficult environment to publicize the damages of sexual violence. Author Bejang said, “It was a time when I thought sexual violence was a personal affair. ‘Maybe the victim lied?’ It was a situation where these words were common. In the middle, the Association (Korea Cartoonists Association) said, “Isn’t it personal?” he said at the time. Despite the painful process of fighting industry stigma and making statements at trial, publicizing the damages of sexual violence is significant in the comic book world. Author Bejang said, “I’m a pretty good (finished) case in the industry. “The perpetrator no longer returns to the industry, and the people around the perpetrator no longer protect the perpetrator,” he said. Many cases of sexual violence often do not even happen. He said, “I remember this case when a similar issue arises, saying,’There was that case at that time’ with this public opinion.”
. Bejang Offer” alt=”A scene from the book . Bejang Offer” />
book <나, 여기 있어요>A scene of. Bejang Offer
This work doesn’t just talk about the sexual violence of one famous author. Men-centered society and patriarchal issues are exposed together. In the family, the local family for only dad and brother was melted together in a cartoon story. It is to show that sexual violence is not just an individual problem but a structural problem. Writer Bejang said, “People ask the victim,’Why did you stay as a student? Didn’t you choose?’ However, the victim is in a social structure with no other options.” In particular, the local suffers not only Jeong Han-seop, but also the harassment of male tutoring students. He said, “I tried to draw a social structure in which women experience sexual harassment and sexual violence against various people in their lives.” Artist Bejang has been working as a sexual harassment and sexual violence instructor in the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism since 2019.
On November 13, 2019, the artist Bejang gives a lecture on the subject of’sexual violence and sexual objectification in the culture and art world’ at Jeju National University. Bejang Offer
In the comics, the delicate approach of the artist Didam, who portrays the experience of the artist Bejang in paintings, stands out. Some refinements were made so that readers were not too violent to read. For example, he did not draw eyes on the face of the perpetrator Jeong Han-seop and his brother, a key figure who reveals the problem of the patriarchal system. In movies and cartoons, human eyes are used as a channel to convey emotions, and in order to exclude expressions that describe and express the intent or emotion of the perpetrator, only glasses are deliberately drawn instead of eyes. Artist Didam said, “I worked while discussing’how’s this?’ and’Isn’t it too violent?’ When he visualized the story, the part he kept in mind the most was to keep the tone of the entire cartoon calm. “For the purpose of delivering the subject, I gently dragged the tone of the manga overall, not too dynamic, rather than a’climbing match’.”
For the safe manga world even for new writers
The work reveals the general reality of the comic book world where gender discrimination is rampant. The PD of the webtoon portal, looked at the local work for 3 seconds and said, “What’s a’female painting’? I don’t need it.” This happens frequently even now, six years later. The artist Bejang said, “The SF genre argues that men should bring’masculine paintings’ as men see them, and so-called romance works should bring’pretty paintings’ that women see a lot… (The decision makers of the portal) are fitting the writers into the frame set.”
. Bejang Offer” alt=”A scene from the book . Bejang Offer” />
book <나, 여기 있어요>A scene of. Bejang Offer
There are some unique works that cannot be defined within a specific gender category, and he said that the stereotypes about paintings are still strong in the market. “There are some non-typical pure manga drawing styles of writers who have deviated from the pretty picture that comes to mind when you think of so-called’sunjeong manga’. In addition, there are also artists who draw deeply in-depth SF works that are close to pure manga drawings, such as drawing the eyes wide. Even though there are many works that cannot be included in a specific gender category, why can’t we abandon the individual’s prejudice of’female paintings’?” There was no end of controversy over the works of cartoonist Kian 84’s derogatory expressions for women. Regarding this, the two writers emphasized that “a problem that cannot be solved simply by criticizing the individual writers,” and that “the industry itself must change.” There are a lot of platforms that publish webtoons such as portals, but the reality is that if there is a problem with the work, the artist is not responsible for it. Author Bejang said, “The portal webtoon promotes the work more stimulatingly by’selling the number of views’. Webtoon demeaning women is a part that portals need to worry about.” Recently, many changes are taking place in the comic book and webtoon world, but the authors emphasized that more people need to participate. Artist Didam said, “Writers are on the streets and protest, and young writers are making a difference by forming their own community. However, it is not only young writers that can change by moving. Companies in the industry that are partners, and established writers who have worked for a long time, must eventually join.” The two authors hoped that the book would not stop merely conveying personal experiences. “I hope this industry is safe even when newcomers or students who do not have knowledge and information about the industry enter the industry. I hope those who have the right to make decisions will realize that even if I do not exercise power, the right to make decisions can act as power for those in a lower position than me.” By Kim Mi-hyang, staff reporter [email protected]