The Tarnished Purpose of Feminism in South Korea by Andrew Youngmin Cho

One movement, two realities. 

The feminist movement in the US dates back to the 19th century with the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, discussing the lowly social, political, and economic status of women. Simple and passive discussions soon evolved into active confrontations against the government. The bravery, as well as the resilience of women, was what ultimately elevated their status in Western society and normalized feminist movements in the coming centuries. 

However, the Korean Peninsula has gone through quite a different history. With heavy influence by China’s Confucianism, the nation stressed the teachings of the Five Relationships: one of which stressed legitimacy on patriarchy or a natural hierarchy between husband and wife. The West nurtured the rudimentary stepping stones of feminism for 200 years, while Korea remained deeply affixed to its Confucian values. Such contrasting history has resulted in a severe cultural lag in the nation, as acceptance of Western democratic values started to clash against Confucian patriarchy that subjugates women. 

This difference in progress is clearly demonstrated in modern American and Korean society. In the US, feminist movements are constantly evolving, such as the recent #MeToo Movement that supported voices of sexually harassed women victims. While this movement was hailed as a huge success in America with many survivors voicing out about their traumas, it entailed a contrary result in South Korea. With ‘feminism’ yet considered as a dirty word in the public, many celebrities that actively supported the movement suffered from public backlash. Instead of women empowerment, animosity and blame of sex crimes on women were the consequences of the Movement. 

This stagnant liberalization of Korean society thereby has exacerbated gender divide, one of the biggest social issues plaguing South Korea today. The root of this issue lies on the discrepancy between male and female perspectives. According to Kim Hyung Jun, a professor of politics at Myongji University, gender divide occurs because both men and women think they are mistreated: “women focus on… misogyny, but men focus on misandry…” Thinking that they have a problem of their own, men thus downplay the importance of the feminist movement. Therefore, society gradually divides itself into feminist and anti-feminist (female and male) groups. Additionally, gender divide is more amplified in Korea as this battle has expanded to Facebook, Instagram, and more websites that many people use on a daily basis. From 2017 to 2018, the use of hate speech between men and women grew to 47 percent online, 9 percent more than the previous two years. 

This gender divide is a major obstacle in women empowerment. Instead of genuine understanding on what difficulties women go through or the rudimentary causes that lead women to be involved in feminism movement, the society has befallen into a vicious battle, immersing each gender group to attack another without considering the societal, structural problems and solutions that are vital to mend current problems. Subsequently, the feminist movement, originally founded to empower the status of victimized women, takes a dark turn. More focus is put into fighting against anti-feminists through online platforms or face-to-face confrontations, only aggravating misandry and misogyny. In effect, progress comes to a standstill as women empowerment is no longer prioritized. 

Laws can’t simply change the culture of anti-feminism in Korea. It is a society’s responsibility to cohesively create a wave of change. Most men will say that sexual harassment is an unacceptable part of Korean patriarchal society. However, the ones who ultimately seek women empowerment and confront

the government’s lackadaisical attitude towards gender equality are the feminists. In order to dismantle this gender divide, more Korean men with similar opinions should actively participate in the feminist movement. With men and women cooperating to eliminate social evils such as sexual harassment, the feminist movement will evolve into a social movement and become more successful in tackling gender issues in Korea. 

Seventy years is a short time in changing the culture embedded in South Korea for a few hundred years. Therefore, the modern feminist movements are fruitless attempts, worsening gender divide between men and women. In Korea, this movement is female-exclusive. Activism from both genders is much needed for this movement to thrive and cause visible change. But before then, this gender divide will remain.