Anti-feminism backlash on the rise in South Korea

SEOUL: Condemnation of quotas for women, vilification of a short-haired Olympic gold medallist, and calls to abolish the gender ministry itself: a backlash against feminism is on the rise in South Korea—with even presidential candidates joining in.

While South Korea is the world’s 12th-largest economy and a leading technological power, it remains a male-dominated society with a poor record on women’s rights. That has been challenged in recent years, with young women fighting to legalise abortion and organising a widespread #MeToo and anti-spycam movement that led to the largest women’s rights demonstrations in Korean history.

At their most militant some campaigners have vowed to never marry, have children, or even have sex with men, while others have gone viral smashing up their make-up products on video in protest against the country’s demanding beauty standards.

Now a fierce reaction is spreading online. Members of anti-feminist groups, often right-wing, have even bullied triple Olympic champion An San during the Tokyo Games for having short hair, and demanded she hand back her medals and apologise.

One such group’s YouTube channel has drawn more than 300,000 subscribers since its foundation in February, and their online campaigns can be ferocious.

They have extracted apologies from companies—and even a government ministry—for using images of pinching fingers in advertising, which they claim “extreme, misandrist feminists” use as a symbol for small penises.

And leading mainstream conservative politicians—including two presidential contenders—have seized on the wider anti-feminist sentiment with pledges to abolish the gender ministry.

Critics accuse the department of “deepening” the country’s social tensions, with young men claiming equality policies fail to address issues that affect men.

They say it is especially unreasonable that only South Korean men have to perform near two-year compulsory military service, delaying their career starts in a highly competitive society, while women are exempt.