The Me Too Movement started in Oct., 2017 in the United States with the use of a hash tag(#MeToo) in SNS(Social Network Services) to condemn sexual harassment and sexual violence. Since then, many people, including prominent celebrities, have supported the Me Too Movement and revealed their experiences. The Me Too Movement has spread around the world. In Korea, it started when incumbent prosecutor Seo Ji-hyun accused the Minister of Justice Ahn Tae-keun. Starting from this accusation, the Me Too Movement has become widespread in many fields through social networks. Even professors used their power for criminal purposes. These facts spread quickly through SNS. Therefore, the debate about the Me Too Movement is intensifying. There are opinions that the Me Too Movement is a good way for solving gender discrimination based on the existing authoritarianism. However, there is also another position that innocent victims are created because there is a proliferation of reckless accusations without positive evidence. Before we examine the right and wrong positions, we should look into the essence of the Me Too Movement. -Ed

  The Me Too Movement is a campaign in which victims who have experienced sexual harassment because of coercion and discrimination based on power have disclosed facts to the public. As people who have authority and power in their respective fields were named as the main culprits of the movement in SNS, the movement in Korea has spread widely. This has become an important issue. Therefore, the government stated their views about the Me Too Movement. On Feb. 26, President Moon Jae-in said, “The Me Too Movement must be taken seriously. I pay my respects to the bravery of the victims who revealed their facts, and I strongly support the Me Too Movement. We will identify and actively investigate criminal charges.” As a solution to this problem, the government plans to open a counseling center. However, there are some concerns that there is no system and no professional counselors. There is no budget for related measures, so it is doubtful whether the measures will work properly. According to a survey about sexual harassment or sexual assault by Michigan State University Professor Cho Hyun-gak released on March 12, 92% of the students who suffered from sexual harassment or sexual violence had not contacted college programs. 42% of them said it was because they did not think the problem would be solved. In fact, there are cases in which the victims attempted to report the facts that they suffered sexual violence to a counseling center and tried to solve it, but the counseling centers failed to solve it. As a result, they spread the facts through university online communities. In response, the Chungbuk National University Gender Equality Consulting Center said, “We understand that many college students are worried. Many college students think the counseling centers would represent the position of the university. Therefore, they report it to the police and expose it to the press. That’s why we’re trying to solve the problem more specifically from the victims’ point of view. After explaining the procedures fully through counseling, we try to resolve problems in a way that the counselor deems appropriate. We believe that these methods must be communicated through the mouths of the students for the university to be better, and trusting relationships must continue to be formed.”
  In some cases, side effects of the Me Too Movement occur and damage its intended purpose. Thoughtless exposure to false facts and excessive gender conflicts are creating considerable problems. These exposures have become a cause of embarrassment to the Me Too Movement. One community site posted an article saying actor Kwak Do-won sexually harassed an individual. Therefore, many people criticized the actor, but it turned out to be a wrong fact. As the movement has spread, some men’s opinions about the ‘Pence Rule’ are spreading. The ‘Pence rule’ refers to former Vice President Mike Pence’s remark, “I will never eat with a woman other than my wife.” As the Me Too Movement has become too provocative, indiscriminate accusations are being made without confirming the facts. Also, the consciousness that men are potential criminals has spread and the Pence rule is spreading to respond to the situations. As the Pence rule becomes a sort of social norm, it can lead to an excessive borderline against women, which can act as a new glass ceiling that reduces the proportion of women in companies. Student S, who goes to a girls’ middle school in Pyeongtaek, said, “Ever since a sexual violence incident case occurred at our school, male teachers have only done their classes and are not willing to talk. Even if students have questions after class, it’s hard to ask questions. They are trying to avoid conversation.” As the movement spread, male teachers who were asked questions from students avoided answering the questions because they were worried about problems.
  The Me Too Movement is the voices of the victims of sexual violence who are not systematically protected. At a debate concert held in the Chungbuk National University Gaesin Cultural Center on June 26, Lee Jae-myeong, the former mayor of Seongnam City, said, “The Me Too Movement is a process of breaking the violent domination of power and not just gender differences. We must spread the right movement and create a fair society.” Lee Hang-woo, a professor in the Dept. of Society, said, “The reason for the spread of the Me Too Movement is a combination of the accumulation of patriarchal power and the desire for change in a contradictory social structure, evidenced by the candlelight vigils that led to the impeachment in the country two years ago. There is a slight concern that a strained relationship between men and women is leading to a disruption of human intimate relationships. This can cause difficulty in maintaining close relationships with each other. However, it is the right purpose of the Me Too Movement that women and men can interact with each other with equal standing by eliminating patriarchal male chauvinism. For this purpose, the movement should proceed as a means of continuing to promote intimate relationships and to advance society one step at a time. It should be a means to solve social problems by spreading the movement.” Similarly, the Me Too Movement is not restricted to men’s and women’s sexual concepts. It is a social issue that is intertwined with vertical organizational cultures and patriarchal power. In this process, we must be wary of negative effects such as excessive candlelight vigils or victim blaming. The correct direction of the Me Too Movement should continue to be established as a healthy social movement.

By Jung Jun-hoe l jjh38@cbnu.ac.kr
By Kim Jae-wan l jw37@cbnu.ac.kr