WEBTOON canceled the English publication of the popular Get Schooled series due to its allegedly racist portrayal of multiethnic characters.
Per ComicBook, WEBTOON announced it would no longer distribute Get Schooled after its latest chapters sparked outrage among readers. The company also reported the series will not return to the USA and that the Korean version has been placed on indefinite hiatus while officials conduct an internal review. "The content depicted in this episode does not align with WEBTOON's values and is absolutely not something we stand for," WEBTOON said. "It should not have been published and we apologize to anyone who encountered it or the harm it caused to the incredible WEBTOON community."
Released in 2020, Get Schooled is a popular South Korean online webtoon written by author Yongtaek Chae and illustrated by artist Garam Han and was a series set in YLAB's "Blue String Universe." Get Schooled's latest chapter, Episode 125, is set in the middle of a rural South Korean village, which is inhabited by a sizable non-Korean population. The chapter included a controversial scene wherein a student of Korean and Ethiopian descent taunted his Korean-American teacher with a racial slur. In response, the teacher similarly insulted the multiracial student with another derogatory term.
Get Schooled Creators Apologize
Creators Yongtak Chae and Garam Han have since released an apology for their portrayal of people of color in Episode 125. They stated that they did not mean to offend any readers with their work and instead intended to showcase the discrimination faced by multicultural and immigrant families in South Korea. They believed these issues were quickly becoming prevalent issues in their society and wanted to use Get Schooled as a way to highlight the challenges some groups might face in their daily lives.
"Get Schooled often starts off episodes in a manner that portrays hatred, but ultimately, the story aims to impart the message to stop such hatred," their message reads. "But there is no excuse for the imagery and language used in this episode. 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."
At the time of writing, it remains unclear when Get Schooled will return from its suspension or if WEBTOON will ever revive the series' English translation.
Source: ComicBook