Political Korean Poem

UPDATED

APR 4, 2024

2024-020-FB-UA

We welcome the Oversight Board’s decision today, April 4, 2024, on this case which deals with an image of a poem posted to Facebook. It is a Korean poem containing the word “weh-nom” (왜놈) which literally translates into “Person from Japan,” but at times it is implied to mean “Japanese scoundrel,” and is a term that has been used throughout Korean history records as a term to refer to Japanese invaders (usually pirates) that attacked the peninsula to loot the coastal areas. In modern times, it is often used to mean “Japanese bastards.” Here, an alternative meaning is presented where the term could mean "Japanese invaders." In the context of this poem about returning to Korea after it became a colony of the Japanese empire, this is a reasonable interpretation of its use.

Upon initial review, Meta removed this content for violating our Hate Speech policy, as laid out in the Facebook Community Standards. However, after the board brought the case to our attention, we determined that we had removed the content in error and reinstated the post.

There will be no further updates to this case.