South Korean women fight back as disillusioned young men seek to cancel feminism
- Tens of thousands of disenfranchised men, including popular politicians, are joining calls to get rid of gender equality efforts with claims of ‘reverse discrimination’
- As women activists fight against the growing wave of intolerance, they have to contend with harassment, cyberbullying, stalking and physical assault over their views
In August, a South Korean man dressed as the Joker live-streamed himself harassing activists who had gathered in Daejeon city to protest against advertisers profiting from YouTube videos that promoted hatred against women.
His words were chilling: “I heard that there were f*****g feminists here; I’m going to murder them all.”
According to Lee Hyo-rin, from the women’s rights group Haeil, no passers-by stepped in as the man chased the activists down the street.
“He clung to me, insulted me and threatened me,” Lee said. “As I was running away, he chased me and got so close that he even put his microphone on my mouth. No one was stopping him.”
The man was Bae Ing-gyu, a notorious YouTuber and a central figure of a South Korean antifeminist movement known as “New Men on Solidarity”.
The community, which has more than 300,000 members, is known for its violent campaigns – and its misogynist ideology is openly backed by some politicians. These include the likes of Lee Jun-seok, who became the youngest leader of South Korea’s largest opposition party, the People Power Party (PPP), in June last year.
