South Korean cyberfeminism and trolling: the limitation of online feminist community Womad as counterpublic

This study examines the South Korean cyberfeminist community Womad, a community currently under fire in South Korea due to its exclusionary politics, i.e., its antagonism towards anyone biologically male and ethnically Korean. In an attempt to go beyond scholarship which focuses mostly on the subversive role played by South Korean cyberfeminism, this paper situates Womad in research on trolling. It also engages in a two-tiered analysis that examines how Womad’s origin in trolling was influenced by (a) the South Korean national context and (b) the specific layout of Womad’s platform, resulting in a community that endorses identity politics. The analysis reveals how Womad’s trolling tactics, its platform, and the specificity of South Korea’s national context all interact in ways that results in the counterpublic that is Womad.