hankyoreh

The debate surrounding the Munhwa Ilbo’s sexually explicit serialized novel "Gangan Man" has transformed into one over "a new breed of government coercion of the press."

Though the debate began in regards to the serial novel's provocativeness, that topic has fallen by the wayside, as the political melee itself has dwarfed the original issue. The reason for this stems in part from the Blue House’s actions as well as the conservative media's efforts to stir up public opinion. When female employees of the Blue House protested and demanded the subscription to Munhwa Ilbo, a daily paper, be cut, the issue changed from one surrounding the novel's provocativeness to one regarding the government's coercion of the press.

The Blue House cut its subscription to the Munhwa Ilbo on November 2. Thus, except for those being delivered to the press secretary's office and the Blue House spokesman, the other 57 subscriptions to the President's residence were canceled at once. One Blue House official stated, "There were points raised about Gangan Man's provocativeness, and the female employees said it was unbearable and upsetting to see, thus leading them to request the cancellation if its delivery."

Last month during the parliamentary hearing, Uri Party legislator Jung Chung-rae strongly condemned the novel's provocativeness. Covering the sexual exploits of a mid-aged businessman, the novel has received a total of 28 warnings from the Korea Press Ethics Commission since 2002, yet its tone has not changed.

Initially silent amidst the controversy, on November 7 the Munhwa Ilbo finally took up the issue of the Blue House's subscription cancellation, and on the following day carried a quote from one civil society activist arguing that, "annulling the subscription out of disgust for the tone of prose is childish." Following this, the Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, and Dong-A Ilbo also labeled the subscription cancellation as government coercion of the press. On November 7, editorial writer Hwang Ho-tae of the Dong-A Ilbo argued in his regular column "Gibberish" that "Gangan Man is a serial novel read by workers. The Blue House and National Assembly should turn their attention to offensive videos and cartoons that defenseless young people are exposed to over the internet." A Chosun Ilbo editorial on the 7th read, "In the past, there were cases of dictatorial regimes pressuring government offices and public organs to subscribe to a select set of newspapers trumpeting the administration. That said, there has been no government such as this that mobilized its power through excessive measures of coercion to end [the subscription to] a newspaper."

Starting with the Munhwa Ilbo, these newspapers have turned the focus on the Blue House's subscription cancellation and dubbed this as coercion of the media. In doing so, they breezed over the initial issue of where the acceptable boundaries lie in regards to provocative serial novels carried by mass media and easily obtainable by anyone. Editorialist Yu Jae-sik of the Joongang Ilbo stated in an opinion piece on November 8 that, "even if a newspaper carries pictures of naked women, the reader can decide to buy it if he likes it or choose not to if he disapproves." In other words, while acknowledging the provocativeness of Gangan Man, he argued that the newspaper has a right to choose its contents to fit the tastes of its readers. The conclusion of such an argument is that raciness in itself is not a problem. The Donga Ilbo and Joongang Daily editorial echoed this, writing that it was sufficient to leave the decision to the reader. Buy it if you like it, and if you don't, then just avert your eyes.

However, this sort of argument stands in contrast with the rating systems in use for TV programs and movies. Is it really tolerable to print a novel with detailed descriptions of sex in a newspaper that the whole family can read?

The National Youth Commission reported, "though the reader chooses which newspaper to read, a provocative novel being seen by young readers is another matter altogether. We will deliberate on a law to allow for generally available newspapers to be applicable for classification as ’harmful media.’ "

Kim Eon-gyeong, chief of the monitoring team at the Citizens’ Coalition for Democratic Media (CCDM) said that "it is a stretch to refer to the classification of the obscenity of serial novels for the protection of youths as an infringement on rights of the press. We are, after all, not talking about articles on politics or the economy or about editorials. If the Munhwa Ilbo acknowledges that Gangan Man is inappropriate for youths, then it should either sell it encased in a wrapper or put a marking indicating it is only for those above the age of 19."

The CCDM intends to open a hearing on the 15th of this month in regard to how the printing of lewd content in generally available newspapers should be dealt with.

Throughout the parliamentary hearing, Jung Chung-rae legislator of the Uri Party, repeatedly emphasized that the heart of the problem lay in protecting Korea’s youth. Legislator Jung said that "if something printed in generally available newspapers is seen as harmful by everyone who looks upon it, then it should be declared to be 'harmful media' and limited to the eyes of those over age 19 through a revision I will propose to the Youth Protection Law."

Professor Kim U-ryong of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, stated, "Gangan Man is obscene material, and printing this sort of novel in a newspaper that young students read is inimical to culture." However, he strongly opposed reform of the Youth Protection Law such that generally available newspapers may be classified as harmful media. "The movement to classify newspapers as harmful media is not only a product of a misunderstanding of the phenomenon of [free] speech, but is an attack on speech itself," he said. "Furthermore, aside from serialized novels, a new set of policies are necessary for media ranging from that which is visible over the internet to that which travels on the airwaves."

This article was written by Park Ju-hi and translated by Daniel Rakove.

[englishhani@hani.co.kr]