By Kim Se-jeong



Women's rights activists held a bicycle rally in Seoul, Saturday, challenging the assertion that the way women dress contributes to sexual crimes.

Ten participants gathered at the Yeouido Hangang Park in Seoul wearing shorts and crop tops exposing their bellies _ some wore only a bra as a top.

Phrases such as "slut" and "this is how I am,"was written on their bodies.

Their bicycles were also decorated with messages such as: "Stop looking at my body! Wash your hands."

At the end of the one-hour ride, the participants came together to jump rope ― the rope was made with bras.

"Earlier this year, I read an opinion piece in a local newspaper in which the author, a policeman, wrote that to reduce summer sexual crimes, women should look at what they wear," an activist from Femimonsters, a women's rights group, said as to why she organized the "slut ride."

She added "that such a message can run in the newspaper speaks volumes of patriarchal characters in the Korean society. It's so wrong to believe that sexual crimes take place because of women's behaviors."

The organizer said there's a reason for choosing a bike for a rally.

"A long time ago, women were not allowed to ride bicycles because women couldn't wear skirts on a bicycle, and it involved active leg movement which wasn't regarded as proper. Also, a bicycle was a symbol of independence because a woman could go anywhere on a bicycle, and men didn't want women to do this," the activist said.

The bike rally is another example of women speaking out against the patriarchal Korean society. A crime which happened outside Gangnam subway station involving a man murdering a woman fueled a nation-wide debate, prompting many angry women to the streets for rallies.

The "slut ride" is based on the 2011"slut walk" in Toronto, Canada.

Hundreds of women turned out for a walk in the street in response to a comment by a local policeman who advised female college students to monitor what they wore so as not to fall victim to sexual crimes.