Toxic Manhwa

"Rizzler" ...... has suggested this new topic. The question was, "Does toxic manhwa impact Korean dating culture (especially with the common violence in relationships)?" This is an interesting question; however, due to the nature of this blog and the fact I am not an actual researcher (hopefully yet), I cannot give any definitive proof. This is going to be more speculative in nature.

The first thing in this was a bit of a dive into Manhwa and the types of toxic relationships and behaviours it symbolises. I started off with this video by LABY. I suggest actually watching the video in full because it brings up a commonly accepted yet surprisingly not behaviour. The first thing LABY does is bring up reasons why people would excuse the behaviour of the characters and like the manhwa. I, for context, did not know about the Jinx manhwa and found out about it through this video. It seems like another classic situation of romanticising bad behaviour because it is sexually appealing when it is not applied to you. A similar manhwa I have heard of before was Killing Stalking, and that was specifically mentioned in the topic request. According to LABY, the reasons why the behaviour is excused are because of pretty privilege; the person who is sexually assaulted isn't shown as a victim; consent is not understood; class and gender; Korea's culture; and many more. 

I will get into the details of pretty privilege. People who are seen as more attractive are excused for their behaviour because of their attractiveness. The video gave some examples, but I will provide some of my own. People who appeal to the physical standards that people set are often the ones who get hired. As seen in the article "Pretty Privilege," people who have tattoos have been seen as "lower-lifes" because of the previous connection between tattoos and gangs. However, something that has changed with time is the use of tattoos as expression beyond criminal activity and how people need to make money to afford the tattoos. The phenomenon has been observed with Luigi Mangione, Ted Bundy, and Cameron Herrin. These people have altered the lives of other people and have been told that they do not deserve jail or 'too hot'. Admittedly, there are other reasons why many people harp for the release of these people, but in these situations, people who are unattractive can face fines "304.88% higher than attractive criminals." (3) That attractive appearance can lead to sexualisation of the person or the situation. People sexualise many things, including rape. People can indulge in rape fantasies and imagine a situation that involves rape or some sort of non-consensual sexualisation as 'hot' for reasons such as the attractiveness of the people involved.

This moves us into the next topic of how rape culture happens because rape is so normalised in the media and reality. It is often downplayed in its depictions. Something that is fascinating to me is how the author behind Jinx depicted the lows of rape and the side effects yet still found a way to enjoy all of the 'sex' scenes. This isn't a South Korean manhwa, but another scenario that is reminiscent is Lore Olympus. It is found on Webtoon, which is a South Korean media platform. It shows rape and shows its side effects and its terrible effects; however, it has been critiqued for the power imbalance between the two main leads, the age gap, and sexualisation of the power imbalance between the characters. I haven't read this Webtoon either, so I cannot make a claim for it. But there are critiques on how Apollo is used as a tool to elevate Hades to a higher, better person. The person who is raped in Jinx isn't really seen as an "ideal victim." (1) Persephone was. This ties into how rape is seen in Korea as only between a man and a woman and only to the woman. That is detrimental to healing society because of the holding back through stereotypes. Women can be rapists just as easily as men, and men do not have to rape just women. 

This ties back into the original question of "How does toxic manhwa affect Korea and its dating?" Well, for people of the LGBTQIA+ community, they are affected by being ignored in the eyes of the system for the abuse that they endure not in media but in reality. As for the other toxic media seen in Korean Manhwa, there is the common trope of running back to the man who killed her in her past life because he has changed and he didn't mean it. There is this image carousel that depicts a total of 19 manhwas with names and characters who depict this trope. (4) This was a theme that the "Rizzler" may have suggested may correlate with dating violence in South Korea. There is increased homicide, more specifically femicide, in the country of South Korea because of their issues with breaking up safely with men that they are dating. I do see how it may appear to correlate; however, in my viewpoint, I see toxic masculinity as a major factor in why men would behave in that manner. A form of toxic masculinity is when men have to be in charge; they have to have some semblance of control over a situation. They need to show that they are in control in some way; maybe that reflects in the repressing of any emotion that isn't anger or through having sexual prowess with other people. There is also the unfortunate outcome of having to vent the anger through violence. People get violent and hooked on the high of getting to beat up what stands in their way, and they are in control because they can get rid of any obstacles they have. This wasn't touched on as much but was still mentioned in Gender Identity. LABY mentioned 'hegemonic masculinity' which was something I had never heard of before. It is when men are pushed further to be dominant in society and they are shown to be superior. They claim that hegemonic masculinity is the greatest there is to achieve and above other gender identities (6). 

This further connects to the topic of dating violence because these men in South Korea are in control, but when the person who is under control is trying to break free, they often react in a violent way to show their dominance. "The National Police Agency reported 57,297 cases of dating violence in 2021," which numbers are higher than years before and show that people are more aware of the situation and how it isn't good. I believe that some toxic manhwa can help readers feel an urge to help the main lead that they relate to. 

Overall, many people have been harmed by the negative perceptions that have been pushed by the media. But the issues are layered with intersections from other issues. I hope this was an adequate enough answer, "Rizzler". If you would like to provide feedback on more of what you wanted to hear, let me know. I did go off on a few tangents.