"A new way of expressing anger"...NYT to illuminate South Korea's protest flag culture

Yonhap News Agency

The New York Times (NYT) focused on the "parody flags" that emerged from protests demanding the resignation of President Yoon Suk Yeol after Korea's December 3 emergency martial law crisis.

The New York Times reported on the 22nd (local time) that "memes and jokes and cats..."Some of the Koreans who took to the streets demanding President Yoon's resignation have found a new way to express their anger through jokes and satire," he said in an article titled "Koreans Using Parodies in Political Protests."

"They waved flags containing quirky messages about cats, sea otters, food, and jokes that they had to get out of their cozy bed due to President Yoon's declaration of martial law," he said, adding photos of various flags spread through social media.

Flags introduced included the "Dumpling Union of the Dumpling Workers' Union," "Pizza Topping Research Group in the Room," "National Association of People with Motion Disorders," "Frozen Room Excavation Team," and "Union of People who have been pushed back." It also introduced satirical flags using animals such as the "Federal Cat Butler Federation," "National Association of Hair Loss Pathologists," and "National Association of Otters is not an otter."

The NYT explained, "The organizations in the flag are non-existent, parodies of actual organizations such as unions, churches, and schools," adding, "This is the idea to use humor to form a sense of solidarity against President Yoon."

He added that this phenomenon shows that even serious protests such as calls for the president's resignation are optimistic and can be in a festival-like atmosphere.

Lee Ki-hoon, a professor of history at Yonsei University, told the NYT, "They are trying to convey the message that 'this situation is unacceptable even to those of us who have nothing to do with political organizations."

"I don't know if the protesters are aware, but they didn't become solemn or moralistic, even if they were angry," he said. "The presence of flags has had the effect of easing tensions."

Reporter Lee Yu Na from Digital News Team.