London: South Korean actress Kim Jayeon lost her job and caused an outrage among some people after she tweeted a photograph of herself wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Girls do not need a prince”. The t-shirt and the slogan itself may seem innocuous but not in South Korea. Jayeon was the voice of one of the characters in a South Korean online game called “Closers”.
South Korea has one of the the strongest culture of gaming in the world. According to the BBC, fans of “Closers” inundated Nexon, the company which produced the game, with complaints. Many of the complaints, according to female activists, were offensive and anti-women. Nexon sacked the actress. The company told BBC the actress would be paid in full for her work but her voice would not be used on the game.
Nexon issued a statement saying it had “recognised the voices of concern amongst the Closers community”, adding that “we have suddenly decided to seek a replacement in the role”, the BBC said. The slogan is associated with a feminist group in South Korea called Megalia, which campaigns against misogyny in Korean society. The T-shirt was being sold by Megalia to finance lawsuits brought by women against men they alleged had ill-treated them.
