Why is Naver Webtoon's 'Get Schooled' getting canceled in North America? Racial discrimination claims explored

The South Korean webtoon Get Schooled has faced its untimely termination due to being heavily criticized for having racially discriminatory content. On September 16, it was announced on Naver webtoon—a South Korean platform owned by the popular search portal of the same name—that they have voted to discontinue the webtoon in North America due to heavy racist content.

Writer Chae Yong-taek and artist Han Ga-ram of Get Schooled issued a public apology regarding the racist and bigoted content. In the letter, they apologized profusely for episode 125, which has hurt the sentiments of many North American viewers.

“The episode aimed to depict the current societal challenges in South Korea, emphasizing the unique dynamics facing multicultural and immigrant families, which is sadly, fostering discrimination against these groups. This discrimination is fast becoming a critical societal concern. With 'Get Schooled,' our objective was to bring this issue to light," Chae Yong-taek and Han Ga-ram said.

As per Get Schooled writer Chae Yong-taek, the episode was a heavy metaphor for the societal construct in South Korea, where racism against multicultural individuals and families is a huge challenge that often leads to the suppressed being isolated and exploited.

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"We deeply apologize for causing hurt": Get Schooled's writer and artist issue a long and heartfelt apology

Due to the uproar caused by the racist content, the discontinuation of the Naver webtoon in North America was inevitable. The decision to discontinue the webtoon's subsequent episodes in South Korea is a testament to the severity of the situation, which stemmed from the racially inclined plot of the webtoon. In the apology letter, writer Chae Yong-taek said:

"We crafted this episode hoping readers would pause and reflect on such societal challenges. However, in focusing on South Korea's multicultural family issues, we overlooked the larger, universal facets and scope of discrimination. We failed to recognize how certain expressions are racist, even if employed for dramatic impact, causing enormous pain to our readers and the wider Webtoon community."

Apology letter by Chae Yong-taek. (Images via Twitter/ allkpop and @jellyiren)

Chae Yong-taek's public apology was a personally written post that he published on his Instagram story from his personal account @yongtaekchae.

He also mentioned how the webtoon's episodes have always depicted violence and hatred as one of its main themes. He explained their intention of keeping such a sensitive theme to shed light upon the societal atrocities and their intention of sending a message to stop such hatred.

However, he realized his good intentions were short-sighted, and he ended his apology by promising to do better.

"All we can do now is apologize and promise to do better. We'll be spending time to learn more about past and present racial discrimination, and the history of racist representations. We can and will do better."

The author admitted that because he came of age in a country that has historically been uniform in appearance, he has only a cursory understanding of issues relating to racial prejudice. He genuinely apologized for the damage caused by his irresponsible use of racist and destructive terms resulting from his ignorance.

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North American viewers of Get Schooled expressed heavy disappointment on social media

Get Schooled, a Naver webtoon released in November 2020, is about a dystopian school where a virtual ban on corporal punishment has led to excessive student violence and the dissolution of school authority. Episode 125 received harsh criticism for its racial bigotry.

The series depicted an Afro-Caribbean mixed-race male student who tormented Korean pupils by using racially offensive language and expressions. Episode 125 also showed how Korean students, who are a minority compared to children of mixed races and foreigners, experience racial prejudice in rural Korean elementary and middle schools.

The fact that the supervisor, a mixed-race Caucasian, was shown as attractive while the mixed-race black student was portrayed as unsightly and uncomfortable led to more criticism. These elements fueled the already raging dispute.

The viewers of the Naver webtoon were shocked and immensely hurt due to the usage of racist terminologies and didn't try to mask their utter disappointment towards the show.

Here's what the viewers had to say about the webtoon:

Although the racist words and images in episode 125 have been altered and eliminated, and the US season of the show has been canceled, the creators are aware that they have hurt many people deeply. Get Schooled has been shut down in both North America and South Korea for an indeterminate amount of time.