Last January from the 21st to 31st, one painting became the center of a hot debate at the satire cartoon exhibition ‘Soon, Bye!’, which was held at the National Assembly Member’s Office Building. The painting entitled ‘Dirty Sleep’ was a drawing satirizing President Park GeunHye. In the painting, a naked woman is lying down and the face of the woman is President Park. A second woman in the painting is standing beside President Park attending to all her wants. The face of the second woman is Choi Soonsil, known among Koreans as the heavy weight of Korea. Choi Soonsil, stands holding flowers that are laid upon cloth, and around the flowers are lots of syringes that suggest President Park has been illegally injected with substances. The background of the painting is the Sewol Ferry as it sinks into the ocean. The painting satirizes President Park’s attitude toward the Sewol Ferry tragedy. The drawing became a huge topic of conversation among Koreans. While some viewed it as the artist’s freedom of expression, others saw it as amplifying hatred of women. Some people were angered at the obscenity of the caricature, since the people in the painting were all women. Many have said the satire should have reflected President Park’s attitude not her sex.
