what to do about all those angry young men
Seoul (CNN)On the same street corner in Seoul where 10,000 South Korean women rallied last Oct to demand an end to spy cameras and sexual violence, the leader of a new activist group addressed a small grouping of angry immature men.
"We are a group for legal justice, anti-hate, and true gender equality," Moon Sung-ho boomed into a microphone to a oversupply of a few dozen men waving placards.
Every bit feminist issues come to the fore in deeply patriarchal South Korea, at that place's a growing discontent among immature men that they're being left behind. Moon, who leads Dang Dang We, a group "fighting for justice for men," is one of them.
He started his group concluding year after a 39-twelvemonth-old business concern owner was sentenced to vi months in prison for grabbing a woman's buttocks in a Korean soup restaurant. The instance provoked outrage that a man could be convicted on no evidence beyond the victim's claims.
While some lashed out at the judge, 29-year-erstwhile Moon found another culprit: feminism. Moon and his group held a panel discussion at the National Assembly, Korea's elevation legislature, in early September, to expose what they perceive to be the alleged harms of the motility.
"Feminism is no longer about gender equality. It is gender discrimination and its manner is vehement and hateful," he said to applause from his audience of about 40, mostly young, men.
"I don't support the #MeToo movement"
The emergence of mainstream feminist voices and ideas came in response to the barbarous murder of a young woman about a subway station in trendy Seoul neighborhood, Gangnam, in 2016. The perpetrator deliberately targeted a female victim.
The woman'south death triggered an examination of attitudes towards women in the state, which broadened to include campaigns against sexual harassment, like the #MeToo movement and anti-spy cam protests, dubbed #mylifeisnotyourporn.
To many, the discussion was long overdue in male orientated South korea, which ranks well below the global boilerplate on the 2018 Global Gender Gap report, with major disparities in terms of wage equality and earned income for women.
Campaigners found support from the South Korean government and President Moon Jae-In, who vowed to "go a feminist president" before he was elected in 2017.
Since then, there accept been several loftier-profile prosecutions relating to sexual abuse involving politicians, One thousand-pop stars, and regular men. With each court victory, the disquiet amidst men, especially young men, began to build.
"I don't support the #MeToo movement," said Park, a business pupil in his early 20s who vehemently disagrees with the notion that immature women today are disadvantaged in society. "I concord that (women) in their 40s and 50s (made sacrifices), simply do non believe that women in their 20s and 30s are being discriminated against."
Park is non his real proper noun. He wants to remain anonymous because he fears repercussions for his views. So does Kim, another student in his early on 20s who is well-nigh to graduate from university. Kim says he sits apart from women at confined to avoid being falsely accused of sexual harassment. Although he was in one case supportive of feminism, he at present believes it'southward a women's supremacy movement that aims to bring down men.
"When a woman wears revealing dress, it'southward gender violence and sexual objectification. Only the same critic volition enjoy a like photograph of men. Feminists have a double standard," he said.
Both Park and Kim say men similar them are existence punished for the crimes of a previous generation. "Patriarchy and gender discrimination is the trouble of the older generation, merely the penance is all paid past the men in their 20s," Kim said.
Park and Kim are non lone. A Realmeter poll final twelvemonth of more than than 1,000 adults found that 76% of men in their 20s and 66% of men in their 30s oppose feminism, while nearly 60% of respondents in their 20s call up gender bug are the nearly serious source of conflict in the country.
What angers Park and Kim most of all is the nation's policy of compulsory conscription, which forces men their age to serve in the military. At the aforementioned time, they think women are getting a leg-upwards from new government programs that help them enter traditionally male-dominated industries.
Cease of old masculinity
For 62 years, South Korean men have been forced to bring together the army. The tradition, which began with the Korean State of war, requires all able-bodied men between xviii and 35 to serve between 21 to 24 months in the military. Simply, different their fathers, today's youth don't believe in this traditional male duty.
Moon's authorities is trying to increasing the number of women in the military, where they currently make up around 5.five% of active troops, co-ordinate to the latest figures. Just right now, women are exempt from compulsory conscription.
Park -- who was injured during his time in the ground forces -- says he got zero benefit from armed forces service. "It's unfair that only one gender must serve during their early 20s. We should be pursuing our dreams instead."
It's a view backed by surveys of young men conducted last year by Ma Kyung-hee, a gender policy researcher at Korean Women's Development Institute.
Ma'southward written report of 3,000 adult men found that 72% of men aged in their 20s call back that the male-only draft is a form of gender bigotry, and almost 65% believe that women should also exist conscripted. Almost 83% believe that armed services service is better to exist dodged, if possible, and 68% believe information technology is a waste matter of fourth dimension.
They're non just concerned about losing ii years of freedom. They're also worried about missing out on opportunities. "If I can't use that fourth dimension for self-improvement, won't I lag behind women in the job market place?" Kim asked.
Competition for jobs
In Republic of korea's hyper-competitive job market, well-paying jobs at big conglomerates are few and far between.
In the last 10 years, the youth unemployment charge per unit has jumped from 6.9% to nine.9%. If yous include youth who are working role time, as well as those who are not in prison house, school or the military, that rate soars to 21.eight%.
And while the country underwent an economic growth spurt from the 70s to the 90s, the young generation of Korea are working in a sluggish economy. Meanwhile, housing prices remain loftier: the median cost for an apartment in Seoul is $670,000 -- while median incomes in the city fall short of $2,000 per calendar month.
Competition for jobs is intense -- and information technology has but become more so thanks to government programs to bring more than women into the workforce. Although the country'due south education gap is all merely closed, women earn less than men in the workforce and are poorly represented in government.
In November 2017, the Ministry of Gender Equality revealed a five-year plan to expand female representation in ministries, government enterprises, and public schools. Last Feb, it was proposed that the plan be extended to the individual sector to incentivize large conglomerates to hire more women and change the male-centric corporate culture.
But some men say these measures are giving women an unfair reward. "I worry whether I would be disadvantaged in finding employment," Kim said. "Considering earlier, it was a position that I could have hands won by merit, just due to the gender quota, (if I don't get the position) it will be unfair."
Park points to women's universities as another case. In Republic of korea, in that location are more than a dozen women-simply universities and no male equivalent. Some of these schools offering courses in highly coveted professions like law or pharmacy -- and as the land caps the number of law students, the more places that go to women, the fewer in that location are for men.
In her study published last year, researcher Ma said South Korea was in a time of "infinite contest where it is incommunicable to observe a stable chore." The older generation of men grew up at a time when women worked in factories, so while many saw women equally weaker beings, they understood that women fabricated sacrifices for them, Ma said. "To men in their 20s, women are seen as a competitor to overcome."
The conflict is beingness exacerbated by the internet, where casual misogyny is being normalized, said Ma.
Ma constitute that men who learned about feminism online were more than probable to exist anti-feminist than those who caused information offline. She was also surprised to notice that college-income and college-educated groups were just as probable to hold anti-feminist views as their lower-income and lower-teaching counterparts.
And while their fathers saw woman as needing protection, Ma establish many younger men believe it'southward women who now agree the power. For them, the #MeToo movement, mandatory military service, and government programs for women's advancement are signs that the playing field is tilting against men.
Seeking a political vocalism
Only two years ago, men in their 20s overwhelmingly supported President Moon. Now, less than thirty% of men in their 20s supported Moon, compared to 63.5% of women, co-ordinate to Dec's Realmeter poll.
The trend -- which could be explained past the President'due south perceived feminist leaning -- has prompted some to seek out politicians that reflect their views. Just when they look, they detect in that location are few options.
One is Lee Jun-seok, a 34-year-old senior member of centrist Bareun Mirae Party, who has publicly accused feminists of making an unfair grab for privilege at the expense of men. A series of YouTube videos titled "a feminist being destroyed by Lee Jun-seok in debates," have more than than 4 meg views and tens of thousands of comments, almost all praising Lee.
"As (the ruling Democratic Political party) moves towards women's rights, the generation (of men) in their 20s and 30s feels clearly lost," Lee says.
That's because, currently, no political political party is exploiting the growing number of disgruntled men. Lee suggests a party with a potent anti-feminist message could sally at next twelvemonth's general ballot, but every bit right wing groups surged in Europe.
For at present, Bareun Mirae's efforts to attract young men seem to exist paying off. According to a Gallup Poll before this yr, men in their 20s and 30s were Bareun Mirae'due south biggest supporters.
Despite the lack of political parties targeting immature men, Moon Sung-ho, from Dang Dang We, is not discouraged. "The current social ills that feminism have created wasn't built in a day. It will accept time and endeavour to crumble it. We demand to do it gradually," he said.
Ma, the researcher, believes that the conflict won't exist resolved as long equally South Korea has armed forces conscription. "We must stop forcing manhood on men," she said. "Order must help men find a new masculinity, instead of anti-feminism."
But Park and Kim feel helpless to change a society that they think is putting women first.
"Nosotros are a punching bag," Kim said, when asked to describe the status of young men today. He points to how immature men are struggling to buy their own homes, or even pay for dates.
At the same question, Park becomes deflated. "Men in their 20s are non role of the establishment. Nosotros must follow whatever people in their 40s and 50s say," he said. "If everyone could easily get a job and the economy was growing, and then maybe we wouldn't demand to fight this much."
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/21/asia/korea-angry-young-men-intl-hnk/index.html
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