Nexon, Kakao Games accused of using feminist hand gesture in promotional videos
Companies criticized heavily for use of gesture in promo videos created by outsourced firm
Nexon, Kakao Games and other game companies here were criticized heavily over the weekend, when a hand gesture associated with a defunct radical feminist community was spotted in promotional videos for their games. As the controversy spread online, the companies removed the videos that they said had been produced by an outsourced company, and apologized for failing to review the videos thoroughly, according to industry officials, Monday.
The controversy began after users found the controversial hand gesture in an animated video for Nexon’s popular game MapleStory. The video was created by animation studio Studio PPURI. After facing a strong backlash from users, Nexon issued an apology Sunday, saying it will launch an investigation into the matter.
The situation escalated after users spotted the gesture in other videos produced by Studio PPURI, including videos for Nexon’s other popular games, such as Dungeon Fighter Online and Blue Archive, Kakao Games’ Eternal Return and Smiltegate’s Epic Seven.
The characters in the videos were seen making a gesture using their thumb and index finger, which is associated with the online feminist community Megalia to mock a specific body part of Korean men. Currently, this gesture is perceived as a symbol of misandry among young men in Korea.
In an official statement, Nexon’s MapleStory team said, “We sincerely apologize for causing concern among our heroes. We will take measures to ensure that the promotional materials in question are no longer distributed and conduct a thorough investigation into the controversy as quickly as possible to take necessary action."
Nexon also stated its commitment to prevent such incidents from happening again, while making every effort to ensure that the culture of hatred toward others does not spread.
"We took down all the related videos and stopped marketing activities related to them. Currently, all team members are conducting a comprehensive investigation,” Kim Chang-seop, director of MapleStory at Nexon, told the game’s fans online on Sunday night. “We will never allow a culture that publicly expresses hatred toward others and those who enjoy such culture to defame MapleStory."
Studio PPURI, which worked on some of the problematic videos, explained, "The gesture was inserted to connect between different movements, not intentionally included as a specific gesture. The staffer involved is a keyframe animator who participates in all our work, but controlling each and every gesture like this is not possible."
It further stated, "We will take responsibility for all scenes that raise suspicions and make necessary modifications, and the staffer in question will not participate in any future modification work or ongoing promotional videos. We will also recall and discard any ongoing work and proceed with rework.”
Controversies over the hand gesture have not been limited to Korea's game industry. In 2021, convenience store franchise GS25 was also heavily criticized for a camping event poster that included the offensive gesture.
The poster featured an illustration of a hand picking up a sausage, which was pointed out as resembling the Megalia hand gesture. As a result, a large-scale boycott movement was launched against GS25, and consequently, GS Retail's CEO issued an apology.
source: The Korea Times
Nexon, Kakao Games and other game companies here were criticized heavily over the weekend, when a hand gesture associated with a defunct radical feminist community was spotted in promotional videos for their games. As the controversy spread online, the companies removed the videos that they said had been produced by an outsourced company, and apologized for failing to review the videos thoroughly, according to industry officials, Monday.
The controversy began after users found the controversial hand gesture in an animated video for Nexon’s popular game MapleStory. The video was created by animation studio Studio PPURI. After facing a strong backlash from users, Nexon issued an apology Sunday, saying it will launch an investigation into the matter.
The situation escalated after users spotted the gesture in other videos produced by Studio PPURI, including videos for Nexon’s other popular games, such as Dungeon Fighter Online and Blue Archive, Kakao Games’ Eternal Return and Smiltegate’s Epic Seven.
The characters in the videos were seen making a gesture using their thumb and index finger, which is associated with the online feminist community Megalia to mock a specific body part of Korean men. Currently, this gesture is perceived as a symbol of misandry among young men in Korea.
In an official statement, Nexon’s MapleStory team said, “We sincerely apologize for causing concern among our heroes. We will take measures to ensure that the promotional materials in question are no longer distributed and conduct a thorough investigation into the controversy as quickly as possible to take necessary action."
Nexon also stated its commitment to prevent such incidents from happening again, while making every effort to ensure that the culture of hatred toward others does not spread.
"We took down all the related videos and stopped marketing activities related to them. Currently, all team members are conducting a comprehensive investigation,” Kim Chang-seop, director of MapleStory at Nexon, told the game’s fans online on Sunday night. “We will never allow a culture that publicly expresses hatred toward others and those who enjoy such culture to defame MapleStory."
Studio PPURI, which worked on some of the problematic videos, explained, "The gesture was inserted to connect between different movements, not intentionally included as a specific gesture. The staffer involved is a keyframe animator who participates in all our work, but controlling each and every gesture like this is not possible."
It further stated, "We will take responsibility for all scenes that raise suspicions and make necessary modifications, and the staffer in question will not participate in any future modification work or ongoing promotional videos. We will also recall and discard any ongoing work and proceed with rework.”
Controversies over the hand gesture have not been limited to Korea's game industry. In 2021, convenience store franchise GS25 was also heavily criticized for a camping event poster that included the offensive gesture.
The poster featured an illustration of a hand picking up a sausage, which was pointed out as resembling the Megalia hand gesture. As a result, a large-scale boycott movement was launched against GS25, and consequently, GS Retail's CEO issued an apology.
source: The Korea Times