D. Va bunny flag and stickers spotted at South Korean Women's March
UPDATE: The National D. Va Association has been in touch.
UPDATE 23RD JAN: I had a message from South Korea on Twitter this morning, from the National D. Va Association. Those flags and stickers you see in the images below, those belong to it.
Staff member Nine, as she's known online, had seen our story and wanted to help me understand the National D. Va Association's cause.
"We are a group of feminist gamers in Korea," she told me. "As you know, D. Va is a Korean woman character who thrives in the gaming world. But in a sexist country like ours, it is impossible for a person like her to arise."
Nine recalled the story from last year, when a Korean teenager was forced to prove her Overwatch skills live on air after being accused of hacking. Her accusers simply didn't believe she could be that good.
The National D. Va Association numbers around 140, including 10 staff members, and coordinates on Twitter, under the account name, for_diva_. That's how Nine found it; it's only been around since last November. The group meets around Seoul every couple of weeks for book readings, which sounds civilised.
The National D. Va Association was at the resignation protests for suspended South Korean president Park Geun Hye as well.
Good work!
ORIGINAL STORY 22ND JAN: Overwatch hero D. Va appears to be something of an icon in South Korea. Flags and stickers bearing her iconic bunny logo were spotted at the Seoul instance of the huge global Women's March this weekend.
The official Seoul Women's March Twitter account retweeted an image of a pink bunny flag at the protest. On the flag it apparently says National D. Va Association, according to the Overwatch subreddit.
Kotaku also found images of D. Va bunny logo stickers worn during the event, printed alongside the words, "The Rise Of The Woman = The Rise Of The Nation."
D. Va is a South Korean character in the Overwatch game. She, Hana Song, was a former StarCraft pro before the government recruited her to fly the MEKA robot she uses in the game.
It's unclear exactly why D. Va is being championed at the Women's March, beyond being an example of a cool, strong, female character. Apparently flags for phony organisations, such as the National D. Va Association, have been known to appear at protests like these before.