“Hwasa, no reflection on malicious comments… worse influence than Barbary Man” VS “Excessive intervention by monster parents”… Obscenity controversy continues [TEN Issue]

[Ten Asia = Reporter Kim Se-ah]

There are conflicting opinions between the Student Parents’ Human Rights Protection Coalition and pop culture critics regarding Mamamoo member Hwasa, who was accused of obscenity due to a performance she performed at a university festival.

On the 11th, Shin Min-hyang, representative of the Student and Parent Human Rights Protection Coalition (hereinafter referred to as ‘Hakyunyeon’), said on CBS Radio’s ‘Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show’, “The choreography for Hwasa’s performance at Sungkyunkwan University on May 12 consisted of sitting with legs spread out on either side and hands touching each other. He said, “After putting them together, he swept up the main parts with his hands,” and added, “This act fell under the category of obscene acts under the criminal act of public indecency under Article 245 of the Criminal Act, so we filed a complaint on June 22.”

It was previously reported that Hwasa was investigated by the police as a defendant at the end of last month. Seongdong Police Station in Seoul reportedly asked Hwasa about the intention and background of the performance. The police summoned the accuser and Hwasa in turn to investigate, then handed over related materials to the agency and are reviewing whether Hwasa’s actions are subject to criminal punishment.

CEO Shin Min-hyang claimed, “When I watched the performance videos, it appears that not only the upper grades of elementary school, but also students who appeared to be in the 3rd and 4th grade were watching the performance.”

When asked, “Do you think that a lewd act in a place where an unspecified number of people, such as a barbarian man, can see is a crime of public indecency, but do you think the speaker’s act was of a similar level?” Representative Shin responded, “Depending on the case, in the case of a barbarian man, Article 3 of the Misdemeanor Punishment Act He emphasized, “It is said that he will be punished under Article 1, Article 33, but Hwasa’s actions had a greater negative impact in some ways because they were seen by an unspecified number of people and the public.”

In addition, he said, “Hwasa says she is being followed by malicious comments, but why doesn’t the public take responsibility for the hurt she received from Hwasa?” and added, “I am very embarrassed by Hwasa’s lack of reflection.”

However, popular culture critic Kim Heon-sik took an opposing position, saying that it was “a case of excessive intervention in artistic freedom”regarding Representative Shin’s claim. He claimed, “This is an example of a group of monster parents excessively interfering with artistic freedom,” adding, “Hwasa’s case is one of the practices of excessively interfering in everything for the sake of a child’s education.”

Critic Kim continued, “(Hwasa’s performance) was basically a festival with college students participating, and not the average elementary school student,”and added, “It is true that if there is a problem there, you should voluntarily point it out and make it public. “Legally, it is not appropriate for the police to intervene because a third party, a parent group that was not at the performance, reported this, and it is not appropriate in terms of the basic spirit of art and freedom of expression,” he explained.

In addition, critic Kim raised the issue of the fact that Hwasa’s performance was spread on social media through a video that someone had personally filmed. Critic Kim said, “The responsibility of the social media platform and the person who caused the continued spread of SNS must also be mentioned, but to single out Hwasa and accuse her without that part is something that can only be assumed to have been intentional in the first place.”

Meanwhile, Hwasa, who was accused of performing obscenity and investigated by the police, became controversial again with her performance of dancing in a school uniform on JTBC’s ‘Knowing Bros’.

In response to this, netizens criticized, saying, “Isn’t the bra top school uniform real?” and “Reforming school uniforms like that to appeal their sex appeal would be controversial in any country in the world.” They also said, “Still, even filing a complaint is an overreaction.” He was also brave.

Kim Se-ah, Ten Asia reporter haesmik@tenasia.co.kr