Draft:Protest Truck

A protest truck is a method of protest originating in South Korea where protesters' messages are conveyed by LED panels on the side of a truck. The trucks are parked in front of or drive around the company or location that is being protested against. It is a form of proxy activism that gained popularity as a result of Covid-19 restrictions on outdoor gatherings.

Entertainment and idol industry
Protest trucks were first used in the entertainment industry by fans of idol groups to make demands or protest the decisions of the groups' companies.

On December 16, 2019, a Blackpink fan union rented the services of an LED truck that drove around the neighbourhood of Blackpink's then-company YG Entertainment. The truck's display alternated between Blackpink's music videos and a message calling for better treatment towards the group. Videos of the truck as it made stops at the YG Entertainment building were publicised by the fan union on social media alongside the company's tags and the fan protest's hashtag.

In February 2020, the disbandment of X1 following the emergence of vote manipulation in the group's formation led over 1000 fans to stage a sit-in in front of the CJ ENM building in Seoul. Protest trucks at the site with LED signs censuring CJ ENM, calling for X1's reformation, and supporting X1 were also sponsored by the fans, especially overseas fans who could not physically attend.

In April 2020, upon the announcement of the birth of EXO member Chen's child, alongside arranging a sit-in outside the SM Entertainment office and buying out a newspaper advertisement in Ilgan Sports, a group of fans also hired a protest truck to park outside of the building. It displayed, on its LED billboard, their demands for him to be removed from the group. In opposition, another fan group also fundraised for a protest truck to be driven around southern Seoul to instead voice their support for Chen's retention in the group. Similarly adversarial sets of trucks were employed outside Hybe Corporation headquarters in May 2023 by fans of Enhypen split for and against the addition of female dancers to the choreography of 'Bite Me'.

Protest trucks against entertainment figures are not limited to travelling around companies. On May 28, 2021, fans of Lee Seung-gi sent a truck to his Seongbuk-dong residence to express disapproval towards his public relationship with Lee Da-in.

The broadcast sectors of the entertainment industry have also received truck protests against their original content. In April 2021, Viewers of Snowdrop sent trucks to JTBC to protest its portrayal of the June Democratic Struggle.

Gaming industry
From late 2020, the use of protest trucks spread to fans of E-sports teams and the gaming industry. In the Jongno District, in November and December respectively, T1 supporters hired a truck to be driven around the SK Telecom building, while KT Rolster supporters planned their truck route around the KT Gwanghwamun East Building. Both groups were protesting the company's decisions in hiring and recruiting coaches and players.

In January 2021, three trucks were hired by Korean Fate/Grand Order players with funds of 10 million won raised by donations from other users and players on DC Inside. The trucks plied the roads around developer Netmarble's headquarters for five days, on its panels messages criticizing the company's failure to fulfil their commitments to the players after Netmarble did not carry out a promised in-game event. Multiple rounds of fundraising by different users on DC Inside accrued sufficient funds to prolong the truck rental across weeks. Around the same time, other Korean video game companies, Nexon, NCSoft, and Gravity, experienced similar truck protests by dissatisfied players of Mabinogi, Pro Baseball H2, and Ragnarok Online respectively.

Civic and labour action
Outside of the entertainment and culture industries, truck protests have been held by civic groups towards government entities. In September 2021, the unofficially established Federation of Korean Newlyweds used the LED panels of protest trucks at Seoul City Hall and cloth banners tied onto wedding cars at Yeouido to protest inequitable Covid-19 restrictions on wedding events.

in October 2021, protest trucks were also a means for Korean Starbucks workers to protest their heavy workload, declining employee numbers, and other poor working conditions. Rather than delegate the operation of the two protest trucks to the rental companies, the protesting employees drove the truck themselves around Seoul over two days.

Appeal
From 2020, Covid-19 social distancing measures imposed across South Korea that restricted citizens' movements and in-person demonstrations increased demand for the use of protest trucks for fans, customers, or citizens to communicate with companies or government institutions safely without flouting quarantine rules. Protest trucks also gave protesters the added convenience of no longer needing to file for a police permit or to consider weather conditions. The preparation and organisartion of protests could be conducted entirely online, where the costs for the trucks are crowdfunded in mere hours.

Increased competition between truck rental companies caused the service to become more affordable. In October 2021, the rental cost for one truck was 300 thousand won per day.

Motivation and Results
Truck protests are outlets for consumer response: 'player activism' in the context of game companies and 'fansumer participation' for idol management companies.

Gaming industry
The greater grassroots influence that playerbases have on South Korean esports development empowers players to take action more directly against game companies. Players' roles as consumers and financial providers for game companies have been emphasised in their protests aimed at dismantling the opaque monetisation techniques of free-to-play games. The value of this dual role and their right to

Closely following the loot box related truck protests against Nexon and NCsoft in January 2021, on February 20, 2021, a bill that would regulate game companies' implementation of loot boxes, including disclosing constituent items and their probabilities of appearing, was submitted for the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee at the National Assembly. With the aim of player and consumer protection, crackdowns on loot boxes followed:

Links
To be deleted later, just for reference: Korean article: https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%ED%8A%B8%EB%9F%AD_%EC%8B%9C%EC%9C%84

LG Energy: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-02-05/business/industry/Reflect-our-blood-and-sweat-LG-Energy-Solution-employees-stage-angry-protest/1974591

Yuhan Corporation: https://www.chosun.com/english/industry-en/2024/03/14/LLENMBGI7NHBJEJKSIL3FQA6X4/

K-pop dating: https://www.chosun.com/english/kpop-culture-en/2024/03/15/NLN3DQLGVFGCREYUTYHO6F7Y6E/

Snowdrop controversy: https://www.straitstimes.com/life/entertainment/protests-mount-over-k-drama-snowdrops-historical-inaccuracies

HYBE-SM: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/03/01/entertainment/kpop/Korea-Kpop-HYBE/20230301145144245.html

Luxury brands, K-pop and the environment: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/03/113_360012.html

Maplestory debacle: game association disclosure policy: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/05/29/business/industry/game/20210529070100844.html nexon fine: https://koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20240312050604 ftc announcement: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-02-26/business/industry/Loot-box-transparency-to-swing-wide-open-with-new-gaming-laws/1989202

Paper on truck protests: https://dl.acm.org/doi/fullHtml/10.1145/3616961.3616963, News: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/02/28/business/industry/game-KGames-Nexon/20210228172607730.html

Gaming and truck protests paper: https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/92512