Hatred is turning into a form of play. Historical tragedies are being repurposed as marketing slogans, and mockery directed at the deceased is widely consumed online. Derogatory remarks targeting specific regions, generations, or groups are tossed around casually, as if they were mere jokes. However, hate speech is not simply a matter of "words." It is an act that turns someone's suffering into a laughingstock and degrades human beings—stripping them of their dignity—to mere objects of ridicule. As discussions regarding societal responses to hate speech and discrimination gain momentum once again, what message should the church convey in this era of hatred?
With the easy use of hate speech and discriminatory language online, one can—often unwittingly—participate in spreading hatred and undermining someone's dignity simply by posting a comment or clicking "like."
Hate Speech Becomes "Play"
Campaigns related to the May 18 Democratization Movement in May and to the incident in which a High School baseball team used cheers that mocked the May 18 movement have seen a recent succession of expressions that use historical events to ridicule specific groups and further fuel social prejudice.
Hate speech differs from mere abusive language or offensive remarks. It refers to expressions that insult, disparage, or show contempt for specific individuals or groups—or justify and incite discrimination and violence—based on factors such as gender, disability, religion, age, region of origin, race, or sexual orientation. Therefore, determining whether a statement constitutes hate speech requires looking beyond the harshness of the language to consider whom it targets and what discriminatory effects it produces.
The nature of hate speech has also changed recently. A professor in a University Law School noted, "In the past, hate speech was often deliberate and purposeful, but today, we are seeing a spread of hate speech disguised as humor, mockery, or play." He added, "People tend to too easily join in on hate speech without realizing the implications."
Social media and algorithms are accelerating the spread of such expressions. Hate speech and discriminatory language are frequently consumed casually and encountered repeatedly in the form of online parody content or (short, shareable internet images). In this process, individuals may undermine someone's dignity without even realizing the nature of their own words. Repeated mockery fosters a habit of viewing specific people or groups as objects of ridicule, which can lead to further acts of hatred.
A "Catholic POLL" survey, jointly conducted by this publication and the Seoul Archdiocese’s Good News Team, revealed that the faithful also recognize the spread of hate speech as a serious social issue. In the survey, conducted among 471 believers from August 5 to 19, 425 respondents, (90.2%) stated that the spread of hate speech has a serious impact on society. Essentially, nine out of ten believers viewed the proliferation of hate speech as a grave problem. However, there was a gap between recognizing the issue and taking actual action. When encountering a culture where hate speech is consumed as memes, buzzwords, or jokes, 68.8% of respondents stated they viewed it negatively or blocked the content because it was offensive. In contrast, only 15.1% said they felt offended but took no specific action, while just 9.3% reported the expression or raised an objection.
A professor at The Catholic University of Korea—identified the normalization of online hate speech and the mindset that "it’s not my problem" as the causes of this gap. "As encountering hate speech in the form of brief comments or memes has become commonplace online and in daily life, our sensitivity toward hate has naturally become dulled." He added that unless the attack is directed at oneself or one's own community, people tend to step back and consume the hate speech merely as a form of content.
As social issues stemming from hate and discrimination escalate, the government is implementing policies based on strict punitive measures—such as penalizing mockery and hate speech, imposing punitive damages, and shutting down websites that tolerate or encourage such behavior.
In the "Catholic POLL" regarding the government's and society's response to the spread of online hate speech, 34.8% of respondents advocated for active regulation through laws and systems, while 45.4% called for a certain level of sanctions and management. Combined, these figures show that 80.2% of respondents recognized the need for government and societal intervention through sanctions and oversight. On the other hand, 19.1% of respondents stated that government intervention should be minimized or avoided altogether. This suggests that while there is a consensus on the need to address hate speech, there is also significant apprehension that state regulation could infringe upon freedom of expression or lead to excessive control.
The university professor argued, "It is true that hate speech taking the form of mockery is more difficult to regulate legally. Because the manifestations of discrimination and hate have become more diverse, we need to establish basic social norms defining what constitutes discrimination and hate before resorting to punitive regulations. We also need to enact an anti-discrimination law as a minimal institutional mechanism to heighten society's sensitivity to human rights."
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