South Korea’s Got a Problem With Their Olympic Archer’s Hairstyle

While women have made big headlines all over the Olympics (Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Margielyn Didal, and hello, Hidilyn Diaz), it seems that not all headlines have been good.

South Korean archer An San — who sports a pretty cute ‘do by the way — has apparently drawn ire from her home country for the “feminist” cut.

Despite winning two Olympic gold medals in Tokyo, many South Korean men have bombarded sites and forums with comments lambasting her short hair.

“Are you sure An San isn’t a feminist,” one online user said on Instagram. “She meets all the requirements to be one.”

Another user wrote, “We didn’t train and feed you with tax money so you can commit feminist acts.”

It’s come to the point that they’ve even demanded for the Korean Archery Association to take back her medals.

In South Korea, a strong anti-feminist movement has swept online communities. The word “feminist” itself holds pretty negative connotations in the conservative country.

Though An was heavily criticized for her hairstyle, many other notable figures made sure to offset the hate with their support.

“With that firm look, please shoot through every prejudice in the world. We stand by your short-cut hair and support you,” South Korean politician Sim Sang-jung wrote on Twitter.

K-pop idol group MAMAMOO, of whom An is a huge fan of, have openly supported the archer on their social media accounts. MAMAMOO has also been known to express feminist ideals in their image and music.

On Saturday, 20-year-old An fired back at her critics by winning her third gold medal and becoming the first South Korean to win three golds at a Summer Olympics. She is also the first athlete to win three gold medals in the Tokyo Olympics.

In response to the criticism, she previously posted a screenshot of hateful comments on her Instagram Stories and wrote this message: “While you’re sending messages in your room driven by your inferiority complex, I’m winning two gold medals at the Olympics.”

In any case, we hope that An’s epic win will inspire more women to stand up to misogyny. If it counts, the Korean hashtag #women_shortcut_campaign is already trending!

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