Moon Jae-in, the son of North Korean immigrants, a Catholic, a member of the liberal centrist United Democratic Party (or Minju), formerly a human rights lawyer, has been the president of South Korea since 2017.
Throughout his election campaign, Moon Jae-in had introduced himself to the population as “the feminist president,” promised a strenuous defense of gender equality, and gained great support among the female electorate that later proved crucial to his victory.
Today, almost on the eve of the new presidential election scheduled for March 9, this position seems to be turning against Moon. Under Korean law, he cannot be re-elected to a second term but will support the Democratic candidate Lee Jae-myung. By doing so, he goes against the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family he wanted, and against his party–the Minjiu. Instead, he stands in favor of the conservative Nationals Power represented by Yoon Seok-youl.
To lash out against what is considered a prevailing feminism that discriminates against men is Bae In-kyu–leader of the anti-feminist group Man on Solidarity–who harangued passersby in Seoul, dressed up like the Joker in the movie Batman. He put on his display from the roof of a parked car; for the stated purpose of sabotaging a feminist demonstration going on nearby.
Bae threw out heavy slogans like, “Feminism is a mental illness! An evil of society! Down with man-haters! Down with misandry!” On the street, the numbers that listen to him are few, but his online presence shows that his positions are not only echoed, but garner substantial funding; and quickly. A few months ago, Bae received donations of 9 million won (about 7500 US dollars), in a 3 minute span. The 신 남성연대 YouTube channel, New Men’s Solidarity, currently has more than 450 thousand subscribers.
Bae In-kyu seems not to be alone in this battle against feminists. Rather, his violent and provocative activism seems to embody a much broader wave in Korean society; where the too-short blanket of economic resources struggles to be shared among all social components. In reality, the numbers do not show an overwhelming power of women, with salaries significantly lower for women than for men and top management positions absolutely marginal, equal to 5.2% of the total. Yet 79% of young Korean males in a survey conducted last year say they are victims of gender discrimination. More than 76% of 20-somethings and 66% of 30-somethings oppose feminism. “”Why are there dozens of women-only universities and not a single one just for men?”, they ask. Plus, they say these universities teach subjects like law and pharmacy, which lead to well-paid careers.
It’s the financial crisis, which with stratospheric housing prices, job shortages and an ever-widening income gap stirs the pot and muddies the waters, making any identifiable “class” or “group” that comes on the economic scene a real or potential enemy in a ruthless struggle to conquer the market.
Yet, further reflection should invite caution to those who look upon cancel culture, wokeism, or #Metoo with cynicism. Pushed to the paroxysm, divide and conquer tactics may be fine for a while, but triggering social conflict at any cost cannot work forever and may even backfire on those who advocate it; like a bomb that explodes in your hands. Those who link the slogans of this anti-feminist wave to those of a “certain Right” in the West without naming names, without citing precise figures or political parties, just accusing this “certain right wing” of considering women in favor of abortion as “family destroyers” and feminists as “female supremacists”.
As the case of South Korea shows, the political instrumentalization for electoral purposes of even legitimate demands does not pay off indefinitely. Time goes by and the wheel turns. Five years go by quickly.