Newsman: Feminists in South Korea are planning to conduct nationwide protests against gender-based violence this weekend, the first to occur simultaneously in several major cities since the pandemic.
It’s a response to an anti-feminist wave the protest has swept across South Korea, creating a gender war where discourse around women’s rights is taboo and men claim they are now the victims of gender discrimination.
Yoon won the presidency earlier this year on a platform accusing feminists of masonry and appealing to young men who feel like they must bear the brunt of Korea’s growing economic insecurity and shrinking job market.
Yoon has continued to push his anti-feminist agenda in recent months, insisting he will follow through with his campaign plans to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The ministry was established in 2001 to provide resources for girls suffering from sexual and domestic violence and to ensure polices do not discriminate based on gender.
Yoon blamed the ministry’s officials for treating men like “potential sex criminals” and escalating gender inequality.
“Abolishing the gender ministry is about strengthening the protection of women, families, children and the socially weak,” he told reporters in October.
Policies meant to increase economic opportunity for women and close the gender pay gap have fueled young men’s resentment toward women.
South Korea’s feminist movement made strides in the last five years, creating one of the most successful #MeToo movements in Asia. The movement took down major public figures accused of sexual misconduct, including the mayor of Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city.
But now some men think things have gone too far. Anti-feminists have taken to social media and online communities to spread their belief that Korean feminists are radical man-haters. One YouTube channel with more than 500,000 subscribers uploads videos thattarget feminists as “mentally ill” radicals who promote female chauvinism.
The pandemic had put a stop to most public gatherings, but with the loosening of restrictions this year, feminists are returning to the streets in larger numbers.
In October, thousands of people from across the country flocked to Seoul to protest President Yoon Suk Yeol’s plans to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Civic, labor and social groups, including Korean Women’s Associations United, joined forces to call on the government to advance women’s rights.
The feminist organization Haeil (Korean for “tsunami”) is leading the protests in the cities of Seoul, Gwangju and Busan on Sunday.
For the past couple decades, South Korea has continued to boast the largest gender pay gap among the countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). As of 2021, the gender pay gap in South Korea was 31% — more than double the OECD average of about 12%. For comparison, the wage gap is 16.9% in the United States.
South Korean women largely must choose between career and family, with The Economist’s glass-ceiling index ranking it the worst country in the OECD for working women in 2022. Strict maternity leave policies at workplaces are one of the reasons for South Korea’s alarmingly low fertility rate at 0.8 children per woman — the lowest in the world, according to The World Bank.
