[Opinion] “Republic of Parody”

The parody of Park Geun-hye, the former representative of the Grand National Party, has become a phenomenon with its sexual implication against her. The opposition party has been raiding the ruling party every day, asking for the president’s apology, and the government is striving hard to have the situation in hand.

It is no trivial matter since the parodied picture, based on the film poster which dealt with adultery, caricatured the female opposition party leader and placed it on none other than the Cheong Wa Dae homepage, “the face of the country.” Let alone former Representative Park, “the victim,” citizens of sense might well frown at it.

Parody has become an expression deeply rooted in our society. When you log on to any Internet portal sites and enter the word “parody,” you can find hundreds of pages related to it. The themes of the parody vary widely from politics, such as impeachment, general election, and parties; to culture, including movies, dramas, and celebrities; to social phenomena of pension system and dumpling shock. In this way, we might witness the emergence of the “Republic of Parody” in place of the “Cyber Republic of Korea” on the Internet.

The problem is the quality of the parody. It generates a new message by altering a well-known original form; therefore, the parody has the strength of delivering an issue which might invite stiff reactions in a funny and insightful way, and helps people have critical perspectives. However, if one who creates a parody focuses only on having “fun” and has a prejudiced mind, the individuals or organizations that become the object of the parody will be hurt, and its viewers might have the wrong idea. This “Park Geun-hye Parody,” which distorted a relationship between the former Representative Park and a certain broadcasting company, is the very example of such a situation.

However, the behavior of Cheong Wa Dae has been more disappointing than the quality of the parody. It is not easy to root out the low-quality parody in this age of the Internet. Then, the next best thing is to try hard not to let it spread. Nevertheless, Cheong Wa Dae did not do anything about the sensational parody for 14 hours and even posted it on the front page of its website. Although the government made an excuse that it was a mistake, people might doubt that those at Cheong Wa Dae thought, “well, it’s just nothing.” If it is one of the results of the “non-imposing authority,” such a kind can surely cause “the loss of authority.”

Song Moon-hong, Editorial Writer, songmh@donga.com