by REERA YOO | @reeraboo
editor@charactermedia.com
The South Korean government was hit with public backlash for a poster that promotes the use of contraception, according to the Korea Times.
The advertisement was issued by the Ministry of Health and Welfare last Friday and was intended to encourage women to use birth control in order to prevent abortions. The poster depicts a young couple from behind, with a man carrying his girlfriend’s pink purse and several shopping bags.
The slogan accompanying the photo reads: “Although you leave everything to men, don’t leave the responsibility for contraception to them.”
However, the paragraph under the slogan states that “contraception is a responsibility for both men and women,” contradicting its previous message.
After the ministry shared the poster on their social media sites, there was outrage among netizens in South Korea. Women criticized the poster for making them look “helpless.”
One female blogger wrote, “This could turn into hatred for women. Why do we have to be seen so selfish and dependent?”
Men were also offended by the poster, claiming that it portrayed their gender as “slaves” and “unreliable in terms of contraception.”
Following the backlash, the ministry took down the poster from its social media platforms. A ministry official said, “The public responses have gone against our original intention to prevent abortion by encouraging adults to actively use contraception.”
This is not the first time the South Korean government has been criticized for its sexist online materials. In late November, the Labor Ministry was criticized after it posted job interview guidelines for women, with one tip suggesting that female job applicants should tell interviewers that they don’t mind “casual jokes about sex.”
Needless to say, that post was deleted as well.
Photo courtesy of South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare
