I Live Alone’s Kian84 Under Fire For “Mocking” #MeToo Movement In Recent Picture

Kian84 has been at the center of attention for allegedly “mocking” the #MeToo movement.

Kian84 is a famous cartoonist who is known most notably for the webtoon “Fashion King”. He has recently been gaining more popularity as a television personality through the program I Live Alone.

The photo that sparked the controversy was uploaded by a fan who added a description of Kian84’s comment on the post.

“He looks like a high school student in person.
I had a lot of fun listening to your jokes~~~.
Please give me one of your ai filesㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ.
He said he had to stand far from me because of the MeToo movement…ㅋㅋㅋ
I look so bad in that pictureㅋㅋㅋㅋ”

Netizens are insisting that Kian84’s comment about standing away from the fan because of the #MeToo movement made a mockery of the movement.

• “He’s taking the MeToo Movement too lightly”
• “I hate how he’s saying that like a joke”
• “Tsk tsk”
• “Even if it was a joke, that’s just unacceptable”
• “Men may take it as humor but for women, it can become personal real fast”
• “Clear mockery of MeToo”
• “He’s thoughtless”

Other netizens thought differently and couldn’t understand why they were making a huge deal out of the situation.

• “MeToo makes a criminal out of a man just by the thoughts and judgment of women without any consideration for his intentions. So he’s trying to avoid it, how is that mockery?”
• “I’m also a woman but I’m seriously embarrassed. Please stop already”
• “I think he’s just trying to be careful he doesn’t make a mistake not mocking~~”
• “Who did Kian84 upset that he keeps getting criticized for small things…could it be that feminists are on his case because he doesn’t really try to please women? Don’t feel bad, I’ll believe in you.”

Apparently, this was not the first time that Kian84 was criticized for issues regarding women. In a blog post Kian84 wrote back in 2011, he explained the origin of his pen name: “a person born in ’84 who lived in Kian-dong, Hwaseong-si, the city where women with beautiful eyes disappeared”. This was criticized for having been “degrading to women”.

Netizens were outraged at the fact that in introducing his name, Kian84 correlated the city of Hwaseong-si with the Hwaseong murder case (a famous case that involved the gruesome murder of 10 innocent women). At the time, they even demanded that he step down from I Live Alone.

Kian84 also once received criticism for the content of his webtoon series “Bokhak Wang” which expressed that no matter how hard a 30-year-old woman tries, she doesn’t stand a chance against a 20-year-old girl.

The series also included the dialogue, “Noona, you don’t taste good because you’re old.” Once again, netizens criticized the cartoonist for demeaning older women by judging women by ‘age’.

Nevertheless, amid the criticism he has been facing, many fans have been cheering him on and showing their support.

• “Kian84 don’t think too much about these petty things~”
• “Don’t be discouraged!! I think they’re just getting at you becase you look the weakest(?) among the I Live Alone members but don’t hold it back! File a lawsuit against everyone for defamation of character! It’s not even just once…since they’re making a big deal even when you’re being careful I hope your agency takes action! Don’t ever be discouraged!!”
• “Doesn’t seem like a problem to me…Kian48 is really popular now isn’t he…gaining attention for something that’s not even a big deal…Kian84 is really charming…”