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Abstract

This article builds on the work of existing English language-printed academic texts on webtoons and webcomics, and introduces instatoons (a portmanteau of Instagram and cartoon) as a medium used by creators to disseminate feminist ideas. Webcomics, as an instrument of feminist storytelling, are seen worldwide. Dubbati (2017) has examined Deena Mohamed’s webcomic Qahera, an Egyptian hijab-wearing superheroine; the French comic artist Emma (2017) published a series of comics in The Guardian, depicting issues such as ‘the mental load’ and maternity leave; Canadian artist Aminder Dhaliwal’s (2017) Instagram series Woman World tells a story of a post-apocalyptic future where men are extinct; and the Indian webcomic Priya Shakti (2014) follows a rape survivor ‘who, along with the Goddess Parvati, defends women against sexual predators’ (Aldama 2021: 5). Focusing on two South Korean (hereafter Korean) instatoons by the award-winning creator Soo Shin Ji (수신지), the notion of Korean feminist instatoons as palatable political passions projects will be explored. Myeoneuragi (며느라기, also known as SARIN) (2017-2018), and Gone (곤) (2019-2020), were both initially published on Instagram and Facebook. Myeoneuragi follows newlywed Min Sa-rin, tracking her experiences of day-to-day inequalities during her incorporation into her husband’s family, and Gone is set in a fictional world where all women who have had abortions face legal punishments.

Myeoneuragi, begins with the wedding of the main character Min Sa-rin and her husband Mu Gu-young. The instatoon quickly shows the subtle inequalities that Sa-rin experiences on a daily basis, while she navigates her company job and her new role as a daughter-in-law (fig. 1).

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This article has been published in MAI: Feminism & Visual Culture and it can be found online at: https://maifeminism.com/palatable-political-passion-projects-feminist-instatoons-in-south-korea/
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Departments:	School of Policy & Global Affairs > Sociology & Criminology

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