Minjuhwa or Minjoohwa () is political

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

of the word ''democratization'' in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. It now only remains in usage in

far right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...

communities despite its

apolitical Apoliticism is apathy or antipathy towards all political affiliations. A person may be described as apolitical if they are uninterested or uninvolved in politics. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased p ...

origins. It is alleged by some that it was coined in 1991, originally used by anonymous apolitical

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

netizen The term ''netizen'' is a portmanteau of the English words ''internet'' and ''citizen'', as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen". It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general.

s to describe violent opposition and mock annihilation of minority opinions. South Korean newspaper ''Jeonjashinmun'' defines this term as "to suffer damage" or "to receive unfair treatment", and says it is usually used in the expression ''Minjuhwadanghaetda'' (민주화당했다) or ''Minjuhwadanghada'' (민주화당하다).

History and origins

''Minjuhwa'' originally meant "

democratization Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an democratic transition, authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction ...

" in the

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

language, and is still used in this positive context. However, in certain communities, the word was used in a different sense for violent campus activism, in which ''minjuhwa'' was satirically used to describe " anti-democratic" or "totalitarian" behaviour, or "

populism Populism is a essentially contested concept, contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the "common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently a ...

", and in some cases,

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

disguised as an "

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

". Some trace the usage of the word from

undergraduates in the June of 1991, when leftist undergraduates became angry in reaction to

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (abbreviated as HUFS; ) is a Private university, private research university in Seoul, South Korea. The university currently teaches 45 foreign languages. In addition, it contains studies in humanities, law, ...

professor Jeong Won-sik becoming the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

of the

Roh Tae-Woo Roh Tae-woo (, ; 4 December 1932 – 26 October 2021) was a South Korean army general and politician who served as the sixth president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993. In 1987, he became the first president to be directly elected under the cur ...

government,91년 정원식 전 총리와 05년 이건희는 달라야 한다
- 오마이뉴스 05년 05월 04일자 and threw eggs and attacked Jeong. Dong-A ilbo traces the origin of the negative usage to the

2008 US beef protest in South Korea The 2008 US beef protest in South Korea was a series of protest demonstrations made between 24 May 2008 and mid August 2008. against president Lee Myung-bak in Seoul, Korea. The protest involved several hundred thousand and at its height up to ...

, where false rumors about

mad cow disease Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and always fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of th ...

were propagated among leftist groups. In the 2010s, the meaning of the word expanded to include suffering from violence and forcing deprivation of money"일진에게 민주화 당했다" 무슨 뜻?
한국일보 2012.04.25 and a common satirical meaning of assaulting disorderly students, being beaten by teachers, or assaulted by a ruffian. The term is also used to jokingly refer to the appearance of unattractive people. The term is used by the far right online community

Ilbe Storehouse Daily-Best Archive () or Ilbe Storehouse (), also known as Ilbe, is a South Korean Internet forum that has a predominantly far-right userbase. The site was created in April 2010 and started as an archive of the ''daily best'' posts from the for ...

as a slang term and the name of their " down-voting button", using "democratization" to mean "the citizens create chaos", "to destroy", or "to make disappear".

Examples

*"My dog's breed name is ''minjuhwa''" . *"My girlfriend's shoes' name is ''minjuhwa''".

Notable uses

During the May 14, 2013 broadcast of

SBS Power FM HLSQ-FM, also known as ''SBS Power FM'' (), is a K-pop music radio station of the Seoul Broadcasting System. The station is heard nationwide via syndication with local FM stations in Korea via HLDG-FM in Busan, HLDE-FM in Daegu, HLDH-FM in G ...

's Choi Hwajung's Power Time, the four members of

Secret Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controver ...

participated in a game in which they were given two options and each member would say which one they preferred. The purpose of the game was to test the members' teamwork and see if they would agree and have the same set of answers. Among the several pairs of choices given, the members of Secret were able to agree three times. After the MC declared this, Hyoseong then remarked: In response to this,

s claimed that Hyoseong used the term "democratization" in a negative manner.

Reception

Usage of the word in a negative manner was criticized by leftist groups as distorting the values of democracy. The usage of the word was considered an influx of far right concepts.

Notes

{{Notelist

References

1991 neologisms 1991 in South Korea Politics of South Korea South Korean democracy movements Far-right politics in South Korea