South Korea is facing a strong anti-feminism wave and feminists are in trouble
Korean dramas are popular around the world for a variety of reasons. Out of all of the reasons that make them popular, feminism is on top of the list. K-Dramas, largely written by women, feature powerful female characters. However, the majority of women in South Korea face appalling life conditions.
Hate for feminism and feminists is on the rise in South Korea.
- To oppose this, feminists in South Korea are planning nationwide protests against gender-based violence this coming weekend; the first to occur simultaneously in several major cities since the pandemic, NPR reports.
Why did the anti-feminism wave start? For more than a decade now, men in South Korea were already frustrated with martial law for boys and would often organise anti-feminism rallies. They would claim that policies for 'women's justice are often used against the men'.
- This feeling among men saw an all-time high in May 2022, when Yoon Suk Yeol became the country's president.
How? Yoon Suk Yeol, a member of the conservative People Power Party in South Korea, supported men's rights. During his presidential campaigns, he used inflammatory statements and promised to abolish the women's gender equality ministry if he won. AND HE WON.
His opposition, Lee Jae-Myung, who was in favour of women's rights, lost the elections.
According to Yoon Suk Yeol, the duties of the gender discrimination ministry were to be transferred to the health department of South Korea in October 2022. However, the process of abolition of the gender discrimination ministry is still going on, what with opposition from several quarters.
South Korea's condition: The 2022 World Economic Forum global gender gap report ranks South Korea 99th out of 146 countries in an index that examines jobs, education, health and political representation of women.
'Feminism is hated': South Korea, no matter how it is presented, is still a patriarchal society in which women are expected to stay at home or meet ridiculous beauty standards.
According to NPR, men in South Korea frequently associate feminism with misandry, and they use the term "Femi" as a slur or associate it with mental illness for anyone who speaks about the challenges that women in South Korea face.
According to a Unicosearch report, women make up 19% of lawmakers in South Korea, and 4.8% of executives at the country's top 100 corporations. Yoon's Cabinet currently consists of three women.