#naver articles

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[240118] Behind Cut ‘Youth (윤호, 민기)’

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(original tweet mentions webnovels, showing boycott is not limited to webtoons) The Butterfly Effect Triggered by 'Pong Pong Man'… Naver Webtoon Finds Itself in a Difficult Situation. What Is the Breakthrough?Boycott Controversy, Decreasing User Numbers, Shareholder Lawsuits, and Labor Disputes… Naver Webtoon Plans to "Create Opportunities to Accelerate Growth."

Sports Daily reports that Naver Webtoon is facing multiple challenges. The ongoing boycott has led to a decline in user numbers, and shareholders are expected to file civil lawsuits due to poor performance. Additionally, the company is grappling with labor union disputes over "post-IPO compensation."

The Naver headquarters located in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Park Eun-sook, reporter.

published Oct 17 2024

this article is originally in Korean and has been mtl and edited into English here. it’s not going to be 1:1 but the basic info should be there, if you see any discrepancies though lmk and I’ll edit it asap. thanks everyone for your continued help and understanding. it’s a bit longer than the typical article posted here so I’ve put the relevant info regarding the DAU/sales drop here, and the additional information that has opinions, info about stock price, labor disputes and US investors under a cut. This is an article someone posted as a QRT to the first tweet above so I thought I would share it bc it’s a news source that now has archived numbers for the boycott.

The boycott movement, which seemed to have calmed down temporarily, has reignited. As of 10 a.m. on October 17, over 18,000 posts with the hashtag "Naver Webtoon Boycott" have been uploaded, pushing the topic to the top of X's (formerly Twitter) real-time trends. This resurgence was sparked by allegations that Naver Webtoon's X account mocked the boycott while promoting a particular work on the afternoon of October 16. The controversy spread rapidly across multiple online communities, although the relevant post has since been deleted.

Professor Lee Eun-hee from Inha University’s Department of Consumer Studies pointed out, "The problem is that consumers feel disrespected. Even though the boycott has continued for several days, the company has given the impression that it has not communicated properly with its customers, and even posted an advertisement that appeared mocking." She added, "Even though Naver is the top platform in the industry, such behavior could be seen as reckless and arrogant by customers, especially when competitors are closing in."

Recently, some twitter users have labeled Naver Webtoon a misogynistic company and called for a boycott. The boycott movement includes deleting the app and hashtag campaigns, with related posts being retweeted thousands or tens of thousands of times, repeatedly trending in real time. According to Mobile Index, the daily active users (DAU) among Android users have decreased by nearly 10%, from 2.2-2.3 million before the boycott to 2.0-2.1 million. There are also reports in the webtoon industry that some webtoon studios have postponed launching new works.

The work that triggered the Naver Webtoon boycott is a fantasy comic titled Isekai Pong Pong Man, which began serialization on September 4, 2024, in Naver Webtoon's "Best Challenge" section. "Pong Pong Man" is a slang term originating from male-dominated communities, referring to a capable and naive man married to a woman who had a promiscuous youth. The story, which revolves around a protagonist who loses his property and child custody to a cheating wife under "laws favoring women in Korea," and is branded as a domestic abuser before crossing over into another world, has been criticized for touching on the explosive issue of gender conflict. The fact that this work was submitted for Naver's "Greatest Contest of 2024" and passed the first round of judging without editorial screening further fueled the boycott.

Naver Webtoon's Dilemma

For Naver, the situation is a catch-22. If the company deletes a specific work while the contest is underway, backlash is expected. Additionally, it's not appropriate for the editorial team to intervene by demanding changes to the title or content of a challenge-level work rather than an official serialization. A source in the webtoon industry commented, "Given how sensitive this issue is, Naver Webtoon has no choice but to be cautious and may find it difficult to take active measures at this stage. Although many view the term 'Pong Pong Man' itself as problematic, much discussion is needed on whether it should be entirely banned in the creative realm."

Cultural researcher and writer Lee Yong-hee noted, "This is not to say that the work is without problems. However, characters can evolve through their narrative arcs, and to take down a work solely for using specific hateful expressions could lead to censorship." Ha Shin-ah, chairperson of the Webtoon Writers' Union, also remarked, "It is not wrong for readers to express their beliefs by pressuring a company through a boycott, but suppressing a creator's freedom of expression in such a way can backfire. I hope a forum will be established where readers, creators, and companies can engage in deeper discussions on ethical content guidelines."

Regarding the matter, a Naver Webtoon representative stated, "A marketing material that had been prepared before the boycott was accidentally released, causing confusion and inconvenience to consumers. We sincerely apologize for this." The representative also noted, "The work in question is currently undergoing a second review, and we are aware of the various opinions surrounding it. The contest will proceed as announced."

An advertising post uploaded by Naver Webtoon's X account. Photo provided by an X user.

Plummeting Stock Prices and U.S. Investor Lawsuits

The troubles for Naver Webtoon extend beyond the boycott. The company’s U.S. entity, Webtoon Entertainment, which serves as the headquarters, successfully went public on the New York Stock Exchange in late June this year. However, following its IPO, poor performance caused the stock price to plunge.

In the second quarter, Webtoon Entertainment's revenue reached $320.97 million, a mere 0.1% increase from the same period last year, while operating losses soared to $79.09 million, more than 14 times the previous loss. The majority of revenue comes from the Korean and Japanese markets, where weakened local currencies against the dollar significantly impacted the second-quarter results. If the currency effect is excluded, the adjusted year-over-year growth rate for the second quarter would be 11.1%.

Following the second-quarter earnings announcement, the stock price fell nearly 40% and has continued to decline. As of October 16, the stock was priced at $11.18, roughly half of the $21 IPO price. Although third-quarter results may show slight improvement due to the stabilization of the won and yen exchange rates, it is unlikely that performance and stock prices will improve sufficiently to satisfy investors in the short term.

As the stock price continues to decline, U.S. investors are moving forward with lawsuits. Since September, law firms specializing in securities litigation have been recruiting participants for a class action, alleging that Webtoon Entertainment failed to adequately disclose the impact of exchange rates on revenue growth in the securities filings submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June.

The plummeting stock has also sparked labor disputes regarding additional compensation following the IPO. After the successful listing on Nasdaq, Webtoon Entertainment CEO Kim Joon-gu was awarded a performance bonus of $30 million (about 40 billion KRW). He also holds stock options for 3,461,670 shares at an exercise price of $11.04 per share. Meanwhile, most Naver Webtoon employees have stock options with an exercise price of over $20-30.

For some employees, the stock option exercise price exceeds the 52-week high of $25.66. The Naver branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) filed an application for labor dispute mediation with the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission on October 8. Mediation is expected to continue until October 21.

A Naver Webtoon representative commented, "The labor issue is ongoing, so we cannot provide an official position," and added, "In the second quarter, we demonstrated differentiated competitiveness across all regions. We aim to create opportunities for accelerated growth in high-potential markets, leveraging our unique global flywheel (virtuous cycle)."

By Kim Jung-min, reporter hurrymin@ilyo.co.kr Sports Daily complies with the Korean Journalists Association, Internet Newspaper Ethics Committee, and Sports Daily Code of Ethics.

[ultrakdramamama]

SHINee's Taemin, the conflicting emotions of love to be portrayed through 'Guilty'

SHINee's Taemin depicts the conflicting emotions of love with his new mini album 'Guilty'.

The song 'Night Away' included in this album is a song that evokes warmth with a soft guitar melody and a mysterious synthesizer. The lyrics depict happy moments with a loved one and Taemin's sweet vocals maximize the romantic mood.

Another new song, 'Not Over You', is an alternative pop song that combines dreamy chords, rhythmic drums, and Taemin's emotional voice. The lyrics express the suffering of being trapped in longing and not being able to accept a breakup.

In addition, Taemin released a new teaser image through SHINee's various SNS at 00:00 today (19th) and showed off his free street mood, such as shooting with a camcorder or walking down the street with a bicycle.

Meanwhile, Taemin's fourth mini-album 'Guilty' will be released in its entirety on various music sites at 6 PM on October 30, and will also be released as an album on that day.

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

[shineearticles]

[afortydegreeday]

Namjoon at the end of the Joke music video, I’ve never seen a dimple look so menacing:

Give the man a morally grey character role immediately.

[to-luna]

[#ONEUS_MAGAZINE] EP.70 '잇다 있다 잊었다 (𝒰𝓃𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑔𝑒𝓉𝓉𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒)' MV BEHIND ✔ ONEUS 공식 팬카페 🔗 (daum fancafe link) ✔ 네이버 포스트 🔗 (naver link)

[dlstmxkakwldrlarchive]

TraxX Jungmo mentioned SHINee, Onew, Taemin

[...] Jungmo added fun by talking about the songs that are banned by CSAT which are also coming back on the chart. He picked SHINee's Ring Ding Dong first. He also congratulated SHINee for their 15th anniversary this year, saying that "Time flies really fast. I remember greeting Taemin while I was still in SM. Jungmo then adding an episode that he remembers, "I often did impersonations in front of the trainee, I remember that Onew liked it the most."

trans ×

[kangyeosaang]

wind and wish · mv behind

[gyuyoungarchives]

📰 "MZ Generation Reveres '2023 ver. Tae-Hye-Ji': Han Sohee, Go Yoonjung, and Park Gyuyoung [Star@Style]" (#ParkGyuyoung Cut)

[AtStyle reporter Kim Yena] The representative actresses leading the 2000s can be condensed into the 'Tae-Hye-Ji' trio. Kim Taehee, Song Hyekyo, and Jun Jihyun, who have dominated dramas, movies, and commercials, have maintained their title for years. However, in 2023, the actresses revered by the MZ generation are different. Han Sohee, Go Yoonjung, and Park Gyuyoung, who connect the genealogy of Tae-Hye-Ji, form the central axis.

Han Sohee, Go Yoonjung, and Park Gyuyoung have climbed the steps diligently. They focused on acting while concurrently serving as brand ambassadors fitting their respective images, thereby expanding their popularity. Unlike their predecessors who opted for an aura of mystique, they did not lose touch with their fans. They adopted a smart strategy, emphasizing consistent efforts rather than instant stardom.

....

< Born in 1993, Park Gyuyoung >

- As good at acting as she is at studying

Since her debut work in 2016, Park Gyuyoung has been actively acting. Until she became an actress, Park Gyuyoung was an honour student. She studied at a foreign language high school and a prestigious university in Seoul, indeed a student who is both beautiful and academically excellent. Even while engaging in acting, Park Gyuyoung completed her university education. Still, she did not neglect her work projects. She acted diligently as if she were studying. After her debut, she showcased her passion for acting by appearing in over 30 works. Especially keen on improving her character immersion, Park Gyuyoung never hesitated to learn. She learned to ride a two-wheeled bicycle in advance for a role, took bass guitar lessons for a practice performance scene, and it is known that she separately practised boxing, jiu-jitsu, and baseball for her action scenes.

Bob-cut Hair Fever

This year, Park Gyuyoung gave women a strong urge to get bob cuts. In "A Good Day to be a Dog," she radiated freshness with a bright-colored bob, while in "Celebrity," she boasted sophisticated beauty with a black bob. Park Gyuyoung's hairstyle choices were impeccable. Park Gyuyoung has an outstanding synchronization rate where seamlessly blends into each of her roles. Besides her contribution in the hairstyling, she has also had a hand in tailoring the overall ambiance and persona to all her characters.

The characters Park Gyuyoung approached with responsibility has elevated the quality of the dramas she has appeared in. While Park Gyuyoung shines in dramas, she particularly has a frequent association with Netflix. She was involved in all seasons from 1 to 3 of "Sweet Home." Especially with Park Gyuyoung being cast in "Squid Game" season 2, all eyes are on her anticipating what new transformations she will showcase.

Full Article: https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/140/0000035268

[yeonjun4beagles]

tomorrow is the first day of act: sweet mirage, im watching from home and i might cry while watching it GOD IM EVEN TEARING UP WHILE TYPING THIS I WANNA MEET THEM

[jimin-updates]

[atzupdates]

[240118] Behind Cut ‘Youth (윤호, 민기)’

[gacha-incels]

“Isekai Pongongnam”, a work that falls short of standards and a red pen correction for Naver

published Oct 17 2024

this article is originally in Korean and has been mtl and edited into English here. it’s not going to be 1:1 but the basic info should be there, if you see any discrepancies though lmk and I’ll edit it asap. thanks everyone for your continued help and understanding.

This article is not a critique of the controversial webtoon Isekai Pongpongnam. Critique, even when highly critical, involves reading between the lines to understand the context. Such a process is unnecessary—more accurately, impossible—when it comes to Isekai Pongpongnam. The webtoon recently passed the first round of Naver Webtoon’s 2024 Grand Contest and is now available on “Best Challenge.” As the title suggests, it actively utilizes the concepts of the “dishwashing theory” and “Pongpongnam,” which were popular around three years ago. Here’s the premise: Park Dong-soo, a 39-year-old man who has devoted himself to his family as a husband and father for 10 years, discovers his wife's affair and prepares for a divorce. Despite having grounds for divorce, he is devastated to learn that, after 10 years of marriage, they must split their assets 50/50. During the custody dispute, his wife self-harms and falsely accuses him of domestic violence, leading to his arrest. Overwhelmed with regret, Park attempts suicide and is transported to a parallel world.

So, what is there to critique about this story? The issue isn’t with the repetitive narrative patterns or the convenient use of a parallel world, like in other generic fantasy stories. The webtoon has been criticized for its misogynistic elements, with a boycott campaign against Naver Webtoon gaining traction on social media, especially on Twitter (now X). While I fully agree with this criticism, it’s not the only issue. The creator of Isekai Pongpongnam hasn’t actually done anything of substance. He hasn’t portrayed any meaningful representation, structured a coherent narrative, or even developed any characters.

The webtoon merely cobbles together and regurgitates misogynistic internet memes, including the term “Pongpongnam,” without any coherent structure. For example, in episode 2, a character from the parallel world reacts to Park's story, exclaiming, “A person who didn’t contribute to the assets just because they were married for a few years gets to take more than half? And the law even protects the cheater? That’s ridiculous! There’s no way a world without a proper system like that exists! If it did, it would’ve collapsed by now!” This line, which some have praised as a “refreshing statement” on Namu Wiki, merely echoes the grievances often found on male-dominated online communities. The setting of Dongtan as Park's hometown, often referred to as “Pongpong City” in discussions about “Pongpongnam,” the lawyer’s line about how “the law favors women too much,” and Park’s monologue about the police taking his wife’s consistent (but false) statements about domestic violence seriously—all these elements are simply recycled memes about male discrimination that have circulated online for years.

In reality, testimony is significant in legal cases, and the credibility of statements is empirically proven through consistency and non-contradiction. However, after the controversial 2018 conviction in the “Gomtang Restaurant” sexual harassment case, the concept of “consistency in statements” was derided as a tool that could turn innocence into guilt, forming a kind of “alternative fact” that continues to circulate in these communities. As of now, three episodes have been released, listing various events, but the creator of Isekai Pongpongnam hasn’t expressed any original ideas or insights. If there’s an actual author behind this webtoon, it isn’t the person named “Pongpong” (the actual pseudonym), but rather the communities like DC Inside, Ilbe, or Femco.

Therefore, Isekai Pongpongnam is not something that can be critiqued as a proper webtoon submission. Instead, it would be more appropriate to mark it up with a red pen. First, the title itself deserves a red line. In response to the controversy over misogyny, the creator claimed, “I do not incite hatred. This story was created based on advice from a divorce lawyer and is based on real events.” If that’s the case, it’s close to an admission that the title was chosen without much thought. While it’s certainly possible that there are real-life cases like Park Dong-soo’s, using such a specific term in the title positions the story within a context of misogyny.

The so-called “dishwashing theory,” which compares a marriage between a respectable man with a stable job and a woman with a promiscuous past to doing the dishes, isn’t an inductive theory but rather a baseless assertion aimed at justifying hatred toward women by creating an imaginary strawman. When the creator chose “Pongpongnam” instead of a more neutral title like “Divorced Man in Another World,” the work had already begun promoting hatred. Therefore, the creator should accept the criticism, not deflect it. The next red line goes to Park Dong-soo’s line about doing “almost all the housework, childcare, and earning money.” The webtoon portrays him as a perfect husband to highlight his wife's wrongdoing. However, the story shows him often away on long-distance business trips, nearly missing holidays with his family, which contradicts his claims of doing most of the childcare.

Similarly, the line about the wife “spending hundreds of dollars a month or overspending while managing finances” also deserves a red line because it conflicts with Park's earlier statement about doing most of the household work. How much of the household chores did this man, who was indifferent to household finances, actually think he was doing? The extent likely matches the narrow range of imagination from a creator who relies on male-dominated online communities and is oblivious to reality.

If this webtoon were a learning material, every line and scene would be marked with red, scoring zero. It mindlessly parrots misogynistic community slang, but in trying to recreate an entire world from such language, contradictions arise at every turn. The one transported to a parallel world isn’t Park Dong-soo but the webtoon’s own logic. Thus, the real target of this critique is not Isekai Pongpongnam itself, but Naver Webtoon for allowing it to pass the first round of screening.

In a Money Today article, a Naver representative said, “There are basic guidelines regarding issues like explicit content or violence. Since no guideline violations were found, it passed the first round.” In other words, despite past controversies over misogyny in webtoons like The Sound of Heart and True Education and the resulting criticisms and revisions, Naver has admitted it lacks guidelines to screen out discriminatory or hateful language targeting specific groups.

The creator of Isekai Pongpongnam argues that the term “dishwashing” is derived from stock trading rather than something as egregious as group rape, trying to suggest that terms like “dishwashing theory” and “Pongpongnam” aren’t expressions of hate. However, the origin of the term is secondary (though not unimportant). When a marriage with a supposedly “promiscuous” woman is likened to dishwashing, the woman is portrayed as something dirty and detestable. Furthermore, the idea that such a marriage is a losing deal disregards women’s contributions to household labor, labeling them as freeloaders. It’s not as though these terms are secretly trending—they were already highly controversial three years ago, with their problematic nature well-documented. How powerless and irresponsible is a guideline that fails to filter out hate speech and discriminatory discourse?

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Yeeun updates 💜🤍

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[220902] KEY - GASOLINE OFFICIAL PHOTOS