Finger-pinching conspiracy theory

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The finger-pinching conspiracy theory [lower-alpha 1] is an antifeminism conspiracy theory that originated in South Korea and claims there is a deliberate plot to spread and promote misandry through hand-gesture imagery. It asserts this objective is accomplished through subliminal messages that contain finger-pinching motifs, interpreted as an allegory of small penis humiliation. Most versions of the theory state that radical feminism groups have assimilated government agencies, businesses, and other various organizations to carry out the secret plot.

Contents

It first gained prominence in May 2021 when South Korean convenience store chain GS25 faced accusations of allegedly shoehorning a hand signal that mocked small penises in an advertisement, causing the company to retract it and issue an apology. Since then, numerous organizations were met with protests from theorists and announced similar apologies.

The conspiracy theory is regarded as a hoax due to contradictory claims and a general lack of evidence. Despite having failed to prove such a plot exists, the theory persists, notably in its video game industry, where Nexon led a public allegation against its collaborators. It is viewed as one of the antifeminism backlash movements in South Korea and has been analyzed as a symptom of gender inequality in the country.

Claims and pattern

In June 2024, finger-pinching theorists accused Nexon of misandry based on a MapleStory illustration (left), where a woman's hand clasping was seen too similar to the finger-pinching and taunted their small penis. The company updated the image with the hands altered (right). MapleStory art alteration comparison by Pressian.jpg
In June 2024, finger-pinching theorists accused Nexon of misandry based on a MapleStory illustration (left), where a woman's hand clasping was seen too similar to the finger-pinching and taunted their small penis. The company updated the image with the hands altered (right).

The finger-pinching conspiracy theory is based on a belief among South Korean men that feminists are planning covertly to worsen their lives or harm them. [5] [6] Most versions of the theories claim that remnants of Megalia, a defunct radical feminism website that closed in 2017, was successful in infiltrating various organizations. [7] The theory argues its remnants started to plant the "feminism hand gesture", commonly referred to as the "finger-pinching," [lower-alpha 2] a hand gesture with an index finger and a thumb facing each other, which connotes small penis humiliation by implicitly signaling Korean men's penises are small. It also resembles Megalia's website logo. [9]

The place where the finger-pinching is spotted varies between theories. There is a general consensus among theorists that the feminist pinch finger is found in a depiction of hands pointing at seemingly innocuous items, such as a credit card, a can of Starbucks espresso, or a COVID-19 vaccine. [10] Some theorists argue Megalia's sabotage isn't exclusive to the finch-pinching because it can also be associated with other inanimate objects, which include a tent, a constellation, and a bay laurel. [11]

The Hankyoreh suggested there is a pattern in how theorists propagate their arguments. An accusation of finger-pinching is first reported online, which is subsequently spread through internet communities, mostly those dominated by male users. This argument is then picked up and amplified by either news media or political figures, which is followed by the theorists' harassment campaign against an organization or a person in dispute. The theorists declare victory if they receive an apology. [12]

History

Background

South Korea of the 2020s has been known for its prevalent gender inequality in economics and everyday life. As of 2021, the gender pay gap is at 35 percent, the widest among advanced economies, and 65 percent of public companies on the Korea Exchange have no female executives. [10] Gender-based violence in South Korea is described by Human Rights Watch as "shockingly widespread". In 2021, a woman was murdered or targeted for murder every 1.4 days or less. [13]

The social inequality is exacerbated by severe gender conflicts in the country. There have been organized social movements by women, described by The New York Times as "Asia's most successful MeToo movement". [13] Young Korean men consider themselves victims of woman activism. [14] Since the late-2010s, there was an increase in the number of young men who viewed feminism as a supremacy movement that oppresses men, with cited reasons including the double standard of the country's compulsory conscription exclusive to men, intense job competition, the lack of political parties representing them, resistance against the concept that they have to take responsibility of toxic masculinity created under older generations, and being treated as potential criminals. [15] [16] A 2021 survey found 79% of South Korean men in their 20s believe they are victims of "reverse discrimination". [17] [18] [19] Antifeminism sentiment is strong within Korea, and "femi", short for feminist, has become a derogatory term for anybody who speaks up about gender discrimination. [20] Taglines like "man haters" are adopted by anti-feminist rallies to describe the feminism movements in the country. [17]

In 2015, a radical feminism website named Megalia was founded, centering on subjecting males to disparagement. [21] It became infamous for its homepage design, whose emblem had an obscene hand gesture that curled its index finger and thumb to each other, mocking the small size of men's penises. [9] Though Megalia was shut down in 2017, its logo has outlived the group. [22]

Origin and spread

On May 1, 2021, GS25's local retail firm GS Retail sent a digital notice letter to its customers via mobile messaging app KakaoTalk, announcing future promotional events in that month. The message contained a poster for camping-related items, which had a pictogram of hands grabbing a sausage. On the same day, a rumor emerged on the internet, claiming the picture resembles the logo of now-defunct Megalia and is a radical feminism subtext for misandry, implying Korean men have small penises. [23] The ensuing backlash reportedly traveled quickly. It was first posted on a website called Ppomppu at 10:15, spread in other online communities by the next hour, and GS25 took its first action before 13:00. [24]

GS25 reacted by issuing apology letters and altering the poster twice that day, each met with new allegations of the poster's several details alluding to radical feminism. [23] A crescent was accused of being the logo of a feminist club in Seoul National University, and its tagline was suspected to have an acronym of Megalia's name. [25] After going through multiple revisions, GS25 removed the poster altogether and issued another apology on social media on May 2. [26] [27]

Protests continued after GS25's announcement. On May 2, a petition to rescind the GS25 chain from the Korea Forces appeared on the National Petition to the Blue House, reaching 42 thousand signatures over a day. [28] [29] A boycott was suggested and spread on online communities and social media, shared with a digital image that spoofed a similar movement in 2019 boycotts of Japanese products. [27] One GS25-affiliated store owner put up a signboard that supported "equality of outcome and opportunity" and denounced feminism. [30]

The integrity behind the online backlash was questioned by GS25 officials and third parties. Food industry retailers interviewed by The Hankyoreh described the accusation as "esoteric" and showed concerns that incidents like it would demoralize their business. [31] A person claiming to be the graphic designer of the GS25 poster contested the controversy on anonymous worker community Blind on May 9, 2021. In a now-deleted statement, she said she "doesn't support any ideology" and her design didn't contain an expression of hate for men. [10] [32] Nevertheless, GS25 announced on May 31 that the graphic designer would be disciplined, and the GS Retail president was demoted. [10] [33]

GS25's case preceded theorists' similar allegations against other organizations. The finger hunt was observed in other areas such as fashion brands, celebrities, local governments, and the police. [29] [25]

MapleStory scandal

On November 25, 2023, finger-pinching theorists suggested there's a vulgar display of misandry in Nexon's video game MapleStory as its recently published trailer, promoting the new class Angelic Buster, featured a character that allegedly performed the finger-pinching for 0.1 seconds. [34] [35] The trailer's production studio, Ppuri, was accused of inserting inappropriate hand gestures by theorists, who claimed it performed the same practice in other Nexon video games like Blue Archive and Dungeon & Fighter . [36] Nexon called the company on November 26, suggesting that it'd be thoughtful of Ppuri to issue an apology, and do so with "strict and humble attitude." Accordingly, Ppuri posted its first apology letter at 16:12. Three hours later at 19:00, MapleStory director Kim Chang-seop announced that Nexon would remove all visual works created by Ppuri and condemned the animation studio in a YouTube livestream. He said that he was against people who implicitly express hatred, and promised Nexon would pursue legal action. [37] [38]

맹목적으로 타인을 혐오하고, 그것을 드러냄에 있어서 어떤 일련의 부끄러움도 느끼지 못하는 그런 문화. 그런 문화를, 그리고 또 몰래 드러내는 것에 희열을 느끼는 그런 사람들에 대해서 저와 메이플스토리가 얼마나 단호하게 반대하고 있는지 그 입장을 말씀드리는 것이 오늘 방송에서 아마 제가 해야될 가장 중요한 일이라고 생각을 합니다.

The culture which blindly abhors others and has no shame in expressing [the hatred]. I think the most important to do in this livestreaming is that I and MapleStory firmly detests the culture and the people who takes delight from covertly showing their [hate].

— Kim Chang-seop, in the official livestreaming on YouTube on November 26, 2023 [39]

Nexon's response was followed by a major backlash from finger-pinching theorists against Ppuri. Its main office had unidentified visitors, who took photos and posted on internet forums. One of Ppuri animators was exposed to doxing, with her social media posts misrepresented as a confession to the finger-pinching. [37] [40] Ppuri's later press conference mentioned it had collected over 1,300 internet posts of cyberbulling to the animator, and hundreds of posts against the company. [41] Pressed by theorists and that Nexon's partnership composed 80 percent of their work assignment at the time, Ppuri president Jang Seonyeong issued the second apology letter on November 27 in which he promised to fire the animator. [37] The public apology was taken down on the same day. [42] Ppuri later overturned the decision of removing the employee from her position. Jang Seonyeong and Ppuri director Kim Sangjin explained that it was unjust to admit to a misdeed the studio has never done, and the director wanted to protect its animators from online harassment. [43]

Later investigations performed by the news media and Ppuri's interviews in December 2023 argued that the allegations led by Nexon and the finger-pinching theorists were erroneous. They argued that the "feminist hand gesture" scene in the Angelic Buster trailer was not drawn by a female employee, but a male animator in his forties, as confirmed by worksheets. [44] [45] Other rumors they opposed included: that Ppuri has voided its offices and ghosted its clients (it never did, although a number of employees were temporarily relocated to other places in light of threatening phone calls and several unidentified people visiting and taking photos of the main office); [43] that Ppuri interposed additional key poses between the original works and failed to notify Nexon (all works were closely supervised and approved by Nexon, including the alleged hand gesture scene); [43] that Ppuri has performed similar practice on a promotional video of Street Fighter 6 (the company did not work on said animatics). [46] Media Today's Noh Jimin argued that the misandry accusation had no merit. [47] Nexon has not responded to subsequent requests for comment from Ppuri. [1]

The MapleStory scandal was the first of a series of similar events that occurred in the rest of 2023 and continued in the following year, with organizations like POSCO and the Ministry of Health and Welfare subject to similar accusations. [47]

Advocacy

Several politicians showed support for the conspiracy theroy. Lee Jun-seok, a prominent antifeminist figure and future party leader of the New Reform Party, first showed support for the theory through Facebook regarding the GS25 incident in 2021. He found that GS25 was inconsistent about how to handle situation when women are involved. The post contained internet slang that deprecated women. [48] Later in 2023, Lee spoke on a YouTube channel that he agrees with the "Megalia fingers" theory when he discussed the MapleStory scandal. [49] Ryu Ho-jeong, a self-proclaimed feminist and also future founding member of the New Reform Party, expressed disgust toward the alleged fact that Ppuri hid pinch fingers in videos to mock men. Formerly a game developer at Smilegate, Ryu clarified that feminism is about the faith that gender equality would contribute to social community, and was worried of that the scandal would hurt other developers in video game industry. [50] [51] Other notable supporters included People Power Party member Heo Eun-ah and former Democratic Party member Lee Sang-heon, both supporting Nexon during the MapleStory scandal. When Lee Sang-heon was later filled in by Kyunghyang Shinmun that the rumor of a feminist woman putting fingers in Nexon works is false, he standed by his opinion, remarking that "the point is not a gender issue, but that there's a certain alignment buyers find uncomfortable." [52] [53]

Writer Park Kapun, basing his arguments on the MapleStory scandal rumors, wrote that the purpose of the finger-pinching controversies is to put an end to hate memes. He referred to male gamers as the "true organized mass" who led consumer resistance movements, contrasting them with civic organizations that considered the movements a censorship. [54] In August 2024, the Seocho District police dismissed a case filed by Ppuri against internet trolling on the basis of that it's a norm in South Korea to ban the finger-pinching in business advertisements, and that it's a logical conclusion for defendants to criticize Ppuri animators, which the police stated had a history of allying with feminists in the past. The police re-opened the case two days later, after its public statement was met with protests. [55] [56]

List of notable responses

Date of responseEntityDetails
May 1, 2021 GS25 GS25's subsidiary GS Retail was accused of misandry when its promotion used an image that portrays a hand with a sausage, which was claimed by theorists to be the finger-pinching. Theorists also argued the poster later added allusion to feminism in reaction to their accusations, which was proven false as said "allusion" was in the poster since its first publication. [23] GS25 disciplined the graphic designer and publicly apologized. [10]
May 2, 2021 National Police Agency In light of the GS25 controversies, a promotional flyer of the Road Traffic Act posted by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency was met with decry from theorists. [57] The flyer contained a hand pointing to its phrase. The police explained in a subsequent announcement that the hand is to emphasize the news and, to avoid confusion, promised it'd withdraw the flyers and replace them. [58]
May 7, 2021Genesis BBQIn May 2021, Genesis BBQ received condemnation from theorists for featuring a pinch finger in its advertising poster, where a hand picked up a sausage with its fingers. The company apologized on May 7 and suspended distribution of the poster. [59]
May 7, 2021 Kyochon Kyochon's fried chicken advertisement came under scrutiny when its social media posts featured an image that depicted two fingers grabbing its product, which was found by theorists offensive due to resembling the pinch finger. Kyochon denied any intention of misandry, but removed the image nonetheless. [59] [60]
May 3, 2021MusinsaOn April 26, 2021, Musinsa commenced a collaborative event with Hyundai Card and posted a promotional flyer in which both hands were grasping a wallet and a credit card. This caused a turmoil in male-centric internet forums, which found the flyer similar to "Megalia hands." Musinsa initially published an announcement on May 3 that the flyer is meant to symbolize barter. This wasn't the first time Musinsa was accused of misandry, as the company issued coupons for female customers in March 2021, only for it to cancel them when the promotion was criticized for being a "reverse discrimination" against men, with its president Cho Manho giving an apology on social media. [61] On June 3, Cho Manho announced he'd step down from president, taking full responsibility of aforementioned two incidents. [62]
May 3, 2021 Emart Emart24 announced a promotional event to win a prize on May 1, 2021, and posted a related poster. The poster, where a man was shown pointing to stars with his hand, was met with uproar from the theorists due to resembling pinch finger, spurring Emart to remove the hand on May 3. [63]
May 17, 2021 Pyeongtaek In May 2021, the Pyeongtaek city hall received online protest when it distributed a poster for competition, which included an image of a group of people, one of which was found offensive by the pinch-fingering theorists due to having a hand gesture similar to "misandry fingers." A city hall official spoke on May 17 that they apologized for upsetting the theorists and decided to discard the existing copies, having to reprint approximately 32 banners, 200 posters, and 4,000 flyers. [64]

In August 2021, the Pyeongtaek city hall was condemned by theorists again when it shared a guide on social media about how to prepare for heat waves in the area, which included an illustration of a farmer wiping his sweat with a hand gesture that allegedly looked like a pinch finger. The city hall reacted by removing the guide entirely. [65]

May 25, 2021RankingdakRankingdak's wrapping paper caused controversies for featuring a hand pointing at taglines, which looked like finger-pinching to theorists. The company apologized and promised to change the design on May 25. [66]
May 27, 2021 KakaoBank KakaoBank apologized for implying misandry with its promotional material, which had a woman pointing at her cellphone. [67]
May 27, 2021 Ministry of National Defense On May 22 and 26, Ministry of National Defense uploaded announcements about its welfare system on its social media, which contained images of soldiers doing a salute. This was considered a controversial move by theorists, as the images had what's perceived as pinch fingers. [68] Its spokesperson Bu Seungchan officially apologized on May 27 during its regular briefing, for causing a "certain misunderstanding and controversy." [69]
June 7, 2021 War Memorial of Korea On June 6, 2021, theorists protested against the War Memorial of Korea through its website board, claiming one of its facilities is featuring a pinch-fingering gesture on its dedicated photo spot. They argued that a Megalia user has assimilated the organization to present the pinch finger gesture and men and must be relieved from their position immediately, despite the fact that said work was on display since 2013, predating the Megalia establishment in 2015. Nevertheless, an official apologized to the theorists on the next day and removed the work. [70] [71]
August 6, 2021 Ministry of the Interior and Safety A poster distributed by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety drew ire from theorists in August 2021 as it featured an image of a man shutting a window, whose pose was claimed to promote misandry. On August 6, the ministry apologized for causing misandry controversy and removed the image. [72] [73] On October 26, 2021, theorists rallied additional campaign as another poster was subject to similar hand controversy; the ministry accepted the accusation on October 27 and apologized as well. [74]
August 26, 2021 Smilegate In August 2021, Smilegate's MMORPG Lost Ark received accusations of featuring the offensive hand gesture. One of its avatar icons was an "OK sign," with an index finger nearly touching a thumb, which some of Lort Ark began claiming was a sexist insult against men. This icon has been in the game since March 2018, but the publisher quickly complied with the demands for removal, promising to policy "game-unrelated controversies" in their products. [22] [75]

On November 28, 2023, Lost Ark director Keum Kang Sun announced that, following the MapleStory scandal, the game would remove what's perceived as finger-pinching to ensure users wouldn't be offended. This included Bikini Island, an in-game level whose geometry on the minimap is shaped like a pinch finger. Keum Kang Sun said the theorists are reasonable, remarking "If [the geometry] didn't mean anything, there's no reason to not change it." [76] [77]

Also in November 2023, in light of Nexon's public condemnations against Studio Ppuri's animatic works, Smilegate's Epic Seven faced an accusation that its promotional trailer, also worked by Ppuri, contained pinch fingers. The director Kim Yunha announced in the following statement that he's ordered to take down related promotional videos and conduct a thorough investigation. [36] [78]

March 25, 2022 Starbucks Starbucks RTD published an advertisement on Instagram about an upcoming summer event on May 25, 2022, in which there was a shadow of a hand grabbing its product. This drew uproar from internet forums that considered it too similar to pinch-finger. Starbucks RTD pulled the ad later that day and issued an apology. [79]
July 19, 2022 Line In July 2022, Line was accused of promoting misandry by the theorists because, when they typed "small" in its text prompt, the software recommended the pinch-fingering emoji via autocorrection. The Line development team denied the rumor when it talked to The Chosun Ilbo about the matter. [80]
November 26, 2023 Nexon On November 25, 2023, theorists suggest there's the finger-pinching gesture in the MapleStory promotional trailer produced by Studio Ppuri. [35] Nexon players went on to claim there's a similar gesture in other Nexon promotional trailers produced by Ppuri, including Dungeon Fighter Online and Blue Archive . [81] MapleStory director Kim Chang-seop spoke in the livestreaming on November 26 that "[the company] will never allow a culture that publicly expresses hatred toward others and those who enjoy such culture to defame MapleStory." [81] Dungeon Fighter Online director Lee Wonman and Blue Archive director Kim Yongha expressed similar sentiments on the matter, with the former saying he didn't tolerate improper expressions regarding Ppuri's animated trailers. [82] [83] The various accusations against Ppuri were later proven false, notably the claim that Ppuri tempered with the animatics without Nexon's agreement, as they were all supervised by Nexon prior to release. [1]

Nexon's public reprimand of Ppuri was positively received by its associated developers. Nexon union leader Bae Suchan compared the fingers to N-word, saying an expression must be redacted if it can be read as hate speech. [84] When its umbrella organization, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, joined the press conference in front of Nexon's headquarters to condemn Nexon's action, Bae Suchan said they'd consider leaving the KCTU because it focused more on political activities than efforts to protect the rights of its members. [85] [86] Supercat, the developer behind mobile game The Kingdom of the Winds published by Nexon, started an in-house training that taught its workers not to express feminism in the game and included Ppuri animator's tweet as an example. [87]

Nexon has since faced additional complaints from Nexon players who insist there're more pinch fingers in the game. In June 2024, a hand clasping in an illustration from MapleStory test server was found suspicious by theorists, who present it as a proof the game's still not safe from feminism. It was met with skepticism from Nexon employees, who commented on an anonymous message board that the players are being malicious. The illustration was updated to remove the hand clasping in full release. [4] In July 2024, the theorists suspected another pinch-finger was present in Nexon-published Eternal Return . The developer Nimble Neuron reacted by removing the trailer in question and promising to discipline the person in charge. [88]

November 26, 2023 Kakao Games Kakao Games announced on November 26, 2023, that Eternal Return has removed its opening animation produced by Ppuri following the MapleStory scandal. [89]
November 28, 2023 Posco In August 2023, Posco uploaded an animated employee recruitment video on its official YouTube channel. On November 28, 2023, the video came under fire from the theorists for featuring multiple incidents of finger-pinching gesture. Posco took down the video without publishing a statement on the same day. [90] [91]
December 7, 2023 Ministry of Health and Welfare The Ministry of Health and Welfare distributed a poster for the 2023 Medical Scientist Conference, which caused uproar from theorists as it featured an image of a woman pointing a finger and therefore implies misandry. The ministry announced on December 7 that the image was created by a British company on April 24, 2021, having nothing to do with the finger-pinching, but it's nonetheless replaced the poster with a new one. [92] [93]
December 2023 Binggrae Prior to controversies, Binggrae was running an advertising campaign featuring Binggraeus, a brand character based on its corporate image. In December 2023, Binggrae pulled off the original promotion and replaced it with a new character design that depicts Binggraeus' hands as flat circles. This change was interpreted by the news media as a corporate decision to conform to the theorists. [94] [95]
June 30, 2024 Renault In June 2024, Renault Korea Motors, the Korean unit of French auto group, revealed showcase videos on its corporate YouTube channel. The videos were accused by theorists as a dog whistle of misandry, as they allegedly featured multiple incidents of a female employee doing a finger-pinching hand gesture. Renault Korea blocked public access to the videos on June 30 and wrote it sincerely apologize to everyone who felt discomfort due to its recent internal promotional content. [96] [97] The female employee in the video issued an apology on June 29 on the YouTube channel's community, saying, "I was aware that a certain hand gesture was problematic, but I didn't know my presentation in the video could be interpreted that way." She was adamant that she didn't do it on purpose. The apology was shortly deleted that day. [98] [99] The company claimed it had issued a suspension on her. [100] [101]

The employee was exposed to doxing through male-dominated internet communities. [102] On July 4, a death threat against her was reported on the news media. [103] Renault Korea president Stephane Deblaise announced on July 3 that the company acknowledged the gravity of the situation and would open a personnel committee with experts to discuss it. [104]

July 1, 2024 Volvo Cars A Korean Volvo employee posted on Blind that there's an unpleasant display of pinch fingers in Volvo posters from June 2024. They were soon presented by theorists as proof of feminists "ruining the automotive industry". [105] Volve Korea removed the posters that day. [101]
July 15, 2024 Hyundai Heavy Industries unionOn July 12, 2024, the union of Hyundai Heavy Industries published an article in its newsletter, which condemned its company's alleged use of pinch-finger on its outdoor signage. The article regarded the signage with fingers as "feminists playing with fire", and concluded that feminists were suffering from "mental leprosy" and must be locked up in asylum. [106]

Criticism and resistance

Finger-pinching conspiracy theory is labeled by numerous authors as a hoax. [1] [5] [10] [7] [107] [11] No evidence suggests radical feminist groups are planting the gesture to promote misandry. [25] [45] The theories are considered flawed, as a human hand can make the gesture countless times a day because of the inherent structure between an index finger and a thumb. [108] [109] Interviews with artists generally agreed that the possibility of the supposed "feminist hand" sabotage is unlikely because the gesture is a natural human pose. Analysts have argued that it is meaningless to isolate and criticize a single frame from animations, as animations exist in motion. [9] Some have claimed that when theories are debunked, the conspiracy theorists refuse to further engage. [95] Furthermore, the theorists have often resorted to aggressive methods like doxing and cyberbullying. [110] [111] [112]

South Korean organizations that appeased the theorists were criticized and described as enabling their behavior. [110] There's a condified pattern in how most Korean businesses handled the theorists, as they quelled the protest by removing items accused of misandry and showed regret for upsetting men's sentimental values. [10] In many cases, such apologies only emboldened the theorists to move on to their next targets. [113] Columnist Park Gwon-il wrote on The Hankyoreh that caving in to the theorists' demands has had a side effect of reinforcing their confirmatory bias, repeating the same controversies. [108] Korea National University of Arts lecturer Oh Hye-min remarked about the companies' action that apologizing may be an easy fix, but it isn't the real fix. She warned that giving attention to the theorists is the very cause of perpetuating the gender violence, and said, "By fulfilling their needs, the companies are actually infringing on people's rights to labor and expression, which many artists are actually exposed to." [8] Noh Jimin, of the Media Today , was instead critical of news media that approached the GS25 incidents as a hot button topic and amplified theorists' voices, instigating conflicts for the sake of sensationalism. [25] She later iterated the same points in reaction to the MapleStory scandal, chastising news media that focused on tying it to Megalia and didn't review faults in Nexon's allegations. [47]

Lee Jun-seok (picture), an antifeminist fringe figure, was supportive of Nexon in regard to the 2023 MapleStory scandal. Lee Jun-seok, Leader of the People's Power, attended a campaign hosted by chungnam Province Chapter at the Sinbu Cultural Park in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do on July 2, 2021 (2).jpg
Lee Jun-seok (picture), an antifeminist fringe figure, was supportive of Nexon in regard to the 2023 MapleStory scandal.

Several commented that the theory's staying power originates from South Korean society's attempt at appeasing Idaenam (a term referring to, sometimes derisively, South Korean men in their twenties). [29] [114] Kyunghyang Shinmun argued that the 2021 South Korean by-elections for the mayor of Seoul, where 72.5% of the male twenities supported Oh Se-hoon from the People Power Party in contrast to 22.2% for Park Young-sun from the Democratic Party, were a wake-up call for both parties, motivating politicians to shift their focus on conciliating Idaenam. [29] Noh Jimin of the Media Today reached a similar conclusion, writing the "misandry controversies" drastically increased after the election. [25] The theory won support from fringe figures with a wide range of political stances; some didn't withdraw their statement when much ground behind pinch-finger terrorism turned out to be a fake news, as was the case when Lee Jun-seok and Lee Sang-heon accused Ppuri in regard to the 2023 MapleStory scandal. [115] [52] [53] Ewha Womans University visiting scholar Kwon Kim Hyun-yeong said, "Politicians have increasingly been using gender conflict as a means to win over a certain group's votes in recent years," citing Lee Jun-seok as an example. [8]

Numerous authors have noted a considerable number of finger-pinching theorists are cultivated through internet forums and social media dominated by male demographics. [12] [2] Notable examples include DC Inside, [57] Ruliweb, [1] Namuwiki, [84] Arcalive, [116] Clien, [71] and FMkorea. [117] Writing in Hankook Ilbo , Lee Hyemi argued these online communities fed the pinch-fingering theories to its users by exaggerating the presence of now-defunct Megalia even though it was short-lived and, at its prime, didn't have nearly as many members as other active websites like Ilbe Storehouse and FMkorea. [7] SisaIN interviewed Ppuri animator regarding the 2023 MapleStory scandal and highlighted how misinformation is spread through male-centric communities; Namuwiki, a wiki-based message board, accumulated edits for an article called "misandry controversy" about the scandal, eventually drawing the conclusion that a feminist woman hid the pinch finger, a claim that was later disproven as the animation was worked on by a man and was supervised by Nexon prior. [84] Sim Seoktae, a Semyung University Professor of Journalism, said reasoning with the theorists is difficult because internet forums that spread the conspiracy theory make its users intentionally reject concepts that challenge their beliefs, comparing the communities to the flat Earth societies. [1]

Kyunghyang Shinmun discussed that the emergence of the pinch-fingering theory is not an isolated incident, but a branch from the ongoing antifeminism backlash movement in South Korea since the 2020s. [29] The Hankyoreh listed the antifeminism backlashes of similar brethren in 2021, one of which is a disproven conspiracy theory that claims an undercover group of elementary school teachers brainwashed their students with feminism. [12] [118]

The country's video game industry was often central to the controversies, as not only did the companies validate theorists, they were actively involved in ousting people who support feminism. Lee Hyemi ascribed the phenomenon to the fact that young Korean men, who constitute a large part of pinch-fingering theorists in video gaming, have disdain for feminism. [7] Several publications noted the pinch-fingering controversies are an extension of the industry-wide feminist purge that started back in 2016. [119] [120] [111] [121] The Counter-antifeminism Emergency Response Committee claimed that they received 77 reports of shunning feminists within video game companies from August to December 2023, of which 17 incidents were workplace bullying, 9 were cyberbullying, and 7 were unfair dismissal. [122] In one instance, an interviewee was promised by a company that, after the 2023 MapleStory scandal, it'd start to exclude women who're thought to be feminist. In another strand, a developer was laid off after disagreeing with their manager's opinion that it's natural for men to chase after female college students at night. [123] Hankook Ilbo journalist in Hyeonu drew comparison to Gamergate, writing that both controversies involved internet communities that enacted bullying toward women. He noted that, much like Gamergate, the theorists abused online anonymity to insult and provoke their targets, and congregated at an internet forum that filtered and manipulated truths through cherry picking. [124]

Nexon, a video game publisher and developer, was singled out for taking advantage of the conspiracy theory and was subject to analysis of how a company engineers online backlash to its profit. Segye Ilbo noted Nexon's modus operandi is to enforce "user-friendly management", in which the company props up a game director as a means of communication to clam down the players and address their anger. In July 2016, when the company replaced a voice actor in reaction to players accusing her of radical feminism, Nexon's internal meetings concluded the action was successful in enlarging its playerbase, adopting anti-feminism and anti-political correctness from then on and eventually leading to the MapleStory scandal in an attempt to satisfy finger-pinching theorists. [120] An insider report from Kyunghyang Shinmun stated that Nexon runs a web scraping software biased toward male-dominated forums, as well as a program that rewards community posts to form public opinion to its liking, though Nexon has denied on both accounts. [125] Kyunghyang Shinmun's Yu Seonhui held the Nexon developers responsible for promoting misogyny, citing the fiasco involving the officially sanctioned Dungeon & Fighter convention that predates the MapleStory scandal by a couple weeks. Nexon requested its participants to submit their social media account ID, a rule that didn't exist until that year, emphasizing "user's right to know." She wrote the policy change coincided with the blacklisting movement from finger-pinching theorists, who demanded all participants' Twitter history be searched and declared anyone who declined would also be treated as feminists. During that time, Nexon also delisted Dungeon & Fighter YouTube promotion of a female singer who supported feminism. [126]

There have been numerous discussions and efforts to resist the spread of finger-pinching conspiracy theories. Jang Hye-young, a Justice Party member, has voiced disapproval of the theory, criticizing Lee Jun-seok for siding with theorists and showing support for victims. [127] [51] Korean WomenLink, a women's rights organization, performed a protest in front of Nexon headquarters as an act against the MaplyStory scandal, and later sent the company a written opinion compiled from approximately ten thousand people. [128] [129] In March 2024, the Counter-antifeminism Emergency Response Committee was co-founded by six different organizations as a collaborated effort to respond to antifeminism in the video game industry. [130]

Sociologist and writer Choi Taeseop argued that the change must come first from the government's attitude, which was that "there's no systemic sexism" in South Korea. [lower-alpha 3] He also suggested policitians stop distorting the conflict for their benefit and concentrate on "first-rate communication" between factions to defuse the situation. [110] Hankook Ilbo's in Hyeonu, in his analysis, said there's no definite solution to resolve neotribalism that typifies finger-pinching theorists. Observing previous online trolling in the western world, such as Gamergate and Trumpism, he was doubtful of persuading theorists because they consider the institution an oppression and deflect their efforts. He quoted Seoul National University professor Kim Sua, who suggested to constantly produce oppositional knowledge and pass the anti-discrimination law. [124]

Notes

  1. ↑ Korean : 집게손가락 음모론. Coined by a series of articles published in December 2023 by Kyunghyang Shinmun , in reaction to Nexon endorsing the theory when its video game, MapleStory , was accused of hiding finger-pinching image in its promotional trailers. [1] [2] [3]
  2. ↑ Alternative translation includes "crab hand". [8]
  3. ↑ A direct quote of the South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol's interview in February 2022, one month prior to his victory in the presidential election. [131] [132]

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  53. 1 2 Yun, Gieun; Park, Chaeyeon (December 4, 2023). "메이플 사태 '섀도우 복싱' 가담한 국회의원, 음모론 거짓 드러나도 '입꾹닫'" [Politicians join 'shadow boxing' in MapleStory incident, silence after faults of the conspiracy exposed]. Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Retrieved August 6, 2024.
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  58. ↑ Lee, Jubin; Lee, Jaeho (May 3, 2021). "경찰까지…"남혐 손모양" 근거 없는 공격에 홍보물 수정" [Even the police... A flyer edited after baseless "misandry fingers" attack]. The Hankyoreh . Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  59. 1 2 Kim, Myeongil (May 7, 2021). ""음식을 왜 손가락으로 집나?" 치킨업계로 번진 '남혐' 논란" ["Why do you pick a food with fingers?" 'Misandry' controversies spread to chicken industry]. The Korea Economic Daily . Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  60. ↑ Lee, Seonghun (May 7, 2021). ""그 손가락이네"…GS25 이어 BBQ · 교촌도 화들짝" ["It's the fingers"... GS25, now BBQ and Kyochon took by surprise]. SBS News . Retrieved July 15, 2024.
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  72. ↑ Yun, Juyeong (December 12, 2021). "행안부의 '집게 손 포스터' 사과에..."정부가 '남성혐오' 주장에 힘 실어줘"" [Ministry of the Interior and Safety apologizes over 'finger-pinching poster'... The government empowers the 'misandry' accusations]. Hankook Ilbo . Retrieved July 23, 2024.
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  75. ↑ "특정 표현을 연상시키는 아이콘 이미지 조치사항 안내" [A notice for icon image that recalls certain expression]. Lost Ark. Smilegate. August 26, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
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  127. ↑ Tak, Jiyeong (December 1, 2023). "장혜영 "이준석, 집게손가락 억지 논란 언제까지 침묵할 건가"" [Jang Hye-young, "Lee Jun-seok, when are you gonna break silence on the illogical finger-pinching controversies"]. Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  128. ↑ Choi, Huijin (November 28, 2024). "넥슨 사옥에 몰려든 여성단체 "돈 써줄 고객층 누구일 것 같나"…업계 발칵 뒤집은 '0.1초 집게 손' 논란 뭐길래?" [Women's rights organization in front of the Nexon headquarter "Who do you think are the consumers"... Industry-breaking '0.1 second finger-pinching' controversies, what is it?]. SBS News . Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  129. ↑ Yun, Gieun (December 15, 2023). "넥슨에 의견서 전달한 1만명의 시민들" [A written opinion from ten thousands people handed over to Nexon]. Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  130. ↑ Lee, Jimin (March 6, 2024). ""게임업계, 페미니즘 사상검증 만연"…공동대응위원회 출범" ["Video game industry has a feminist hunt problem"... Counter-antifeminism Emergency Response Committee founded]. Segye Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  131. ↑ Gunia, Amy (March 10, 2022). "How South Korea's Yoon Suk-yeol Capitalized on Anti-Feminist Backlash to Win the Presidency". Time . Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  132. ↑ Park, Jeongyeop (February 7, 2022). "윤석열 "구조적 성차별 없다. 차별은 개인적 문제"" [Yoon Suk Yeol "There's no systemic sexism. The discrimination is all personal problem."]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved July 24, 2024.
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