Korean women take part in a pro-feminist march during a rally to celebrate International Women’s Day in Seoul on March 8, 2019. Anti-feminism has been on the rise and has been strongly promoted throughout the year. now by President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP via Getty Images
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Korean women take part in a pro-feminist march during a rally to celebrate International Women’s Day in Seoul on March 8, 2019. Anti-feminism has been on the rise and has been strongly promoted throughout the year. now by President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP via Getty Images
feminism in south Korea is planning to conduct nationwide protests against gender-based violence this weekend, the first to take place simultaneously in several major cities since the pandemic.
It is a response to the wave of anti-feminism that has swept through South Korea, creating an intense gender war in which debates about women’s rights are taboo and men claim that they are present. victims of sex discrimination.
The pandemic has brought most public gatherings to a halt, but with the easing of restrictions this year, feminists are returning to the streets in greater numbers.
In October, thousands of people from all over the country flocked to Seoul to protest against President Yoon Suk Yeol’s plan cancel Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Civil, labor and social groups, including United Korea Women’s Associationjoined forces to call on the government to promote women’s rights.
Feminist organization Haeil (Korean for “tsunami”) is leading the charge Demonstration in the cities of Seoul, Gwangju and Busan on Sunday.
An administration that promotes anti-feminist sentiment
Korea’s feminist movement has made strides in the past 5 years, making it one of the most successful movements in the world. #MeToo movement in Asia. The movement has taken down major public figures accused of sexual misconduct, including mayor of BusanKorea’s second largest city.
But now some men think things have gone too far.
Yoon was elected president earlier this year communication accused feminists of having an affair and attracting young men who felt like they were bearing the brunt of South Korea’s growing economic unrest and shrinking job market. Policies aimed at increasing economic opportunities for women and closing the gender gap have fueled young men’s resentment of women.
Anti-feminists have used social media and online communities to spread their belief that Korean feminists are man-hating extremists. A YouTube channel with over 500,000 subscribers uploads videos targeting feminists as “mentally ill” radicals who promote women’s chauvinism.
Yoon has continued to push his anti-feminist agenda in recent months, insisting that he will follow through on his campaign plans to cancel Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Ministry has establish in 2001 to provide resources for girls experiencing domestic and sexual violence and to ensure policies do not discriminate on the basis of gender.
Yoon blame Department officials treat men as “potential sex offenders” and fuel gender inequality.
“Abolishing the gender set is to strengthen the protection of women, families, children and the disadvantaged in society,” he told reporters in October.
What’s it like to be a woman in Korea?
Shoppers walk past cosmetic stores in Myeongdong district, Seoul in 2019. Women in South Korea are subject to beauty standards that many consider unfair and inappropriate.
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Shoppers walk past cosmetic stores in Myeongdong district, Seoul in 2019. Women in South Korea are subject to beauty standards that many consider unfair and inappropriate.
Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images
Give the past few decadesKorea has continued to be proud of biggest gender pay gap between countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). As of 2021, the gender pay gap in South Korea is 31% — more than double the OECD average of about 12%. For comparison, the wage gap is 16.9% in the United States.
Korean women mostly have to choose between career and family, with The Economist’s Glass Ceiling Index ranks it the worst country in the OECD for working women in 2022. Strict maternity leave workplace policies are one of the reasons for South Korea’s alarmingly low birth rate at 0.8 children per woman – the lowest in the world, according to International Bank.
In addition to discrimination in the workplace, women are subjected to beauty standards that many consider unfair and inappropriate. Yusu Li, a member of the feminist group Haeil, said there is a stigma against women who don’t wear makeup or have short hair.
Danbi Hwang, another member of Haeil, said that if women go to work without makeup, colleagues will ask, “Are you okay? Is something wrong?”
“They respond by attacking women’s physical appearance directly,” she said.
The “escape the corset” movement took Korea by storm in 2019, rejecting the country’s beauty standards and societal pressure to conform.
But society’s expectations of women persist. Typically, at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, archer An San of Korea – who won 3 gold medals in Tokyo – became the target of online abuse from anti-feminists, who argued that her hairstyle showed that she was a radical feminist.
A witch hunt against feminists – or any woman who talks about gender issues
People hold a pro-feminist rally in Seoul in February. Many women’s rights activists have to operate anonymously for fear of being threatened with their lives.
Ahn Young-joon/AP
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People hold a pro-feminist rally in Seoul in February. Many women’s rights activists have to operate anonymously for fear of being threatened with their lives.
Ahn Young-joon/AP
When even a person’s hairstyle can become a reason for cursing and accusations of hate, many young women in South Korea are afraid to speak out about women’s rights.
Ellen Kwon, 25, said many young Korean men look down on women because of their passion for gender equality.
Kwon, who has spent half her life in South Korea and half in the US, said she won’t openly talk about gender issues with her Korean friends.
“I know how the boys will react,” she said. “I know they’ll say, ‘Here’s another girl talking about sex.'”
“Femi,” short for feminist, has become a derogatory label for anyone who speaks out about sexism and women’s empowerment in Korea. Hwang, of Haeil, said asking someone if they are “women” in South Korea is like asking if they are mentally ill.
“This kind of rhetoric is censoring women’s voices, especially when they try to support gender issues,” said Jinsook Kim, a professor at Emory University who studies feminism and hate. online women, said. “A lot of women can’t talk about gender issues in public, and they don’t even talk to their best friends, because they don’t know what their friends think about it.”
For this reason, many feminists operate online, anonymously. Many of them infrequently receive death threats, prompting some to leave the country.
With the lack of public figures openly advocating for women’s rights, young Korean girls are struggling to find role models, Kim said.
In the corporate world, women hold only about 21% management positions and just 5% of executive positions in Korean companies. Politics reflects a similar makeup. In the legislature, only 19% of seats held by women. And, according to Kim, there are very few feminist professors who teach at Korean universities.
“It’s hard to say there’s hope when you look at the overall situation,” Li said of Haeil. “But what gives me hope is that feminists, my friends, see women like me with short hair and no makeup, and the women’s rights protests show us not alone.”
