Recalling the Past Within a Social Network’s Collective Memory Work: How Did Korean Twitter Users Shape #Equal_Punishment_for_Equal _Crime From Their Experiences?

Abstract

On 19 May 2018, more than 12,000 women gathered at Hyehwa subway station in Seoul, South Korea to protest discrimination against Korean women and spy camera involved crimes. This rally was a response to an incident in which a male nude model in a class was secretly photographed by a female model at Hongik University. This study examined how discourses on Twitter regarding the incident led to the demonstration and what was the memory working that shaped significant discourses through critical discourse analysis. First, a discourse that “women have long been victims” emerged through personal remembrances. Second, photographs of the female suspect standing with police officers directed a discourse that “women have been treated unfairly by public authorities” through collective witnessing. Third, many women contextualized the incident as a gendered event by connecting the past feminist movements. Finally, through appropriating past slogans and accumulated hashtags on Twitter, the main slogan of the rally #Equal_punishment_for_equal_crime was established. This study provides an under-researched context of digital mnemonic practices and the logic of connective actions by analyzing feminist movements in South Korea.