Yes24 apologizes for email mishap

Channel YES, a web magazine run by bookseller Yes24, issued an apology Monday evening after offending its male subscribers with an email on Sunday.

On Sunday morning, Channel YES sent a newsletter to subscribers with title “How could you be so hannam?”

Hannam is a derogatory term that first started being used in 2015 along with the rise of a radical feminist wave in Korea, and is a portmanteau of Hanguk (Korea) and namja (man).

The word was first used by members of Megalia, an online radical feminist community, to call out men who failed to treat women as their equals. The word was criticized by men since, on its surface, it refers to all Korean men.

The email was sent to promote a new feminist book by author Choi Tae-sup titled “Hanguk, Namja” published in October, and included an interview with the author.

The apology came on Monday after the company received complaints about the email.

“The title was a sentence picked out from the interview with author Choi Tae-sup,” explained Channel YES in its apology posted on the website. “We didn’t take into consideration that it could be seen differently from its original intent.”

“We apologize to everyone who may have felt uncomfortable due to this incident.”

“Hanguk, Namja” is a book that’s dedicated to analyzing masculinity in Korea.

Choi’s previous books include “Surplus Society” (2013) and “A Country of Upset People” (2018), touching on a number of social issues.

By Yoon So-yeon