hankyoreh

Park Bo-gyoon, South Korea’s culture minister, answers questions from lawmakers during a parliamentary audit on Oct. 5 while looking at a comic that had been awarded a top prize at BICOF. (pool photo)

As controversy continues to mount over the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) mentioning the possibility of discontinuing support to the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency (KOMACON) over its decision to award a top prize to an editorial cartoon critical of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Minister Park Bo-gyoon said Wednesday that the problem was a matter of “KOMACON transforming a middle and high school students’ cartoon competition that has established a reputation for pure artistic sensibility into a competition for political tainting.”

With critics increasingly accusing the administration of suppressing freedom of expression, Park’s remarks took aim at the agency rather than the artwork. But the motives behind his quibbling and excuses are all too clear.

Appearing that day at a parliamentary audit, Park said his ministry was “not taking issue with the work itself, but with [KOMACON] removing a clause about ‘avoiding political overtones’ when it held the contest.”

In an explanatory press release on the “Yoon Suk-yeol train” cartoon the day before, the MCST said, “The selection and exhibition of a work that dealt explicitly with political subject matter go very much against the aim of the event, which is meant to inspire cartooning desires among students.” It also said it had issued a stern warning to KOMACON.

It went on to provide additional information stating that KOMACON had violated the MCST’s conditions for support, which said that “artwork that shows political aims or disparages the reputations of others will be disqualified.” By making a point of stating that the agency receives a budget of 10.2 billion won in support, the ministry hinted at the possibility that the amount may be reduced.

The “Yoon Suk-yeol train” cartoon was presented at the 23rd Bucheon International Comics Festival, which wrapped up Monday. It shows a train with Yoon’s face blowing smoke as it races along its track. In the engineer’s seat is a woman who appears to be first lady Kim Keon-hee, followed by a car full of what appear to be prosecutors brandishing swords.

Park’s contract cancellation remarks are based on the perception that the cartoon has a political aim and is disparaging to the reputations of the figures who appear in it, namely Yoon and Kim.

But the spectacle of the administration drawing distinctions between “pure artistic sensibility” and “political tainting” conjures images of the blacklisting that took place under the Park Geun-hye administration, which suppressed critical artists and artwork by denying them support. There doesn’t seem to be any way of interpreting the “disparagement” references except as a way of protecting Yoon and Kim’s feelings.

During his campaign, Yoon talked about how comedy is a matter of “satirizing reality” and how political satire is a “self-evident right.” In his remarks Wednesday, Park spoke of how the Yoon administration “maximally guarantees freedoms of expression and creation.”

Meanwhile, the People Power Party has submitted a complaint to prosecutors accusing the MBC network of “defaming the president” with its reporting on a hot mic gaffe during this US visit, and police are now investigating an artist who put a picture lampooning Yoon near his presidential office in Yongsan.

We have to wonder whether this is the kind of “freedom of expression” that the Yoon administration claims to be guaranteeing.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]