The Washington Post - USA (2022-03-06)

A24 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, MARCH 6 , 2022

BY MIN JOO KIM AND

MICHELLE YE HEE LEE

seoul — When Kim Ju-hee was
at nursing school, her instructor
told the class that “a nurse’s
pretty face is part of the service
that she provides,” which even for
a woman from the conservative
Korean city of Daegu was a bit
hard to take.
Once Kim began working, she
experienced constant sexual ha-
rassment and discrimination,
prompting her to seek out the
support of other women under-
going similar experiences. The
27-year-old then began to fight
back, taking on night shifts so
that she could be an activist by
day, organizing protests against
misogyny.
But she and other female activ-
ists in South Korea face an uphill
battle, especially with a rising
male “anti-feminist” movement,
whose members stage counter-
protests mocking and threaten-
ing the women — even as they are
increasingly being courted by
politicians.
A gender war has erupted
among young South Koreans in
their 20s, driven by conflicting
perceptions of what it means to
be truly equal in today’s society. A
slow boil of aggrieved male back-
lash nurtured in the distant cor-
ners of angry Internet forums
and private Discord channels has
erupted to confront a galvanized
women’s movement that is chal-
lenging decades of traditional
attitudes — and the women are
losing, experts warn.
South Korea is a deeply male-
dominated society that has long
had a poor record on women’s
rights. The nation’s gender wage
gap is the worst among devel-
oped countries, with little sup-
port for women seeking careers
past their early 30s. Young wom-
en are particularly vulnerable to
sexual violence, especially online.
“Growing up, we were told it’s
a sad house when a hen crows
louder than a rooster, which
makes it hard for women to be
taken seriously as political ac-
tors,” Kim said.
Women’s efforts at equal
rights, however, are colliding
with a cooling economy and re-
duced opportunities for most
young people that some men
have channeled into fury at wom-
en — not dissimilar to the wom-
an-hating ‘incel’ movement in
North America.
The 2016 stabbing of a young
woman by a man who said he was
angry that women had ignored
him triggered a reckoning over
the vulnerability of Korean wom-
en. Women were emboldened to
speak up against the patriarchy
and sexual violence — including
#MeToo — but this fueled a re-
sentment among some men who
saw feminism as a conspiracy to
take away their opportunities.
The anger among these “anti-
feminists” is rooted in economic
insecurity. They feel alienated by
the policies that were created to
close the chronic gender gap in
South Korea, and see job offers
and college acceptance letters

The World

AFGHANISTAN

Taliban minister

makes appearance

Sirajuddin Haqqani, the
Ta liban’s acting interior minister
— designated a terrorist by the
United States — said in a rare
public appearance that security
police guilty of misconduct in
Afghanistan were being
penalized after a string of abuse
allegations.
Haqqani attended the
graduation ceremony of the first
class to complete police training
since the Ta liban assumed
control of Afghanistan. The
event marked the first time
Haqqani has given statements to
the media since being named
interior minister.
It also was the first time
Haqqani’s face was shown in
photographs published by
official Ta liban government

channels. In an October

appearance, photos of the

influential and reserved figure

were blurred.

Haqqani said in a speech at

the ceremony that Ta liban

security personnel who

committed crimes against

Afghan civilians were

undergoing criminal

proceedings.

Civilians have complained of

abuse by Ta liban militants in

house-to-house raids and at

checkpoints.

Haqqani said the

international community should

not see his government as a

threat and that foreign aid was

needed to revive the country.

He said his government was

committed to the Doha peace

agreement signed between the

Ta liban and the United States in

February 2021 that brought an

end to the war in Afghanistan.

— Associated Press

Officials vow to find Pakistani

mosque bombing organizers:

Pakistani officials vowed to hunt

down and arrest the

masterminds behind a deadly

mosque attack in Pakistan on

Friday that was claimed by an

Islamic State affiliate. The

assault killed 63 people and

wounded nearly 200. The

militant group said in a

statement that the lone suicide

bomber was from neighboring

Afghanistan. The Islamic State

affiliate, known as Islamic State-

Khorasan, is headquartered in

eastern Afghanistan.

Chinese premier’s pledge draws

rebuke from Taiwan: Chinese

Premier Li Keqiang pledged to

advance peaceful growth in

relations with Ta iwan and

“reunification,” but he said his

government firmly opposes any

separatist activities or foreign

interference, drawing a firm

rebuke from Ta ipei. Speaking at

the opening of the annual

meeting of China’s parliament,

Li said Beijing stands by the “one

China” principle. China, which

claims democratic Ta iwan as its

own territory, has increased

military activity near the island

over the past two years.

“Taiwanese public opinion

firmly opposes the political

framework, military

intimidation and diplomatic

suppression imposed by China,”

Ta iwan’s Mainland Affairs

Council responded.

S. Koreans battle massive

wildfire: Thousands of South

Korean firefighters and troops

battled a large wildfire that tore

through an eastern coastal area

and temporarily threatened a

nuclear power station and a

liquefied natural gas plant. The

fire, which began Friday

morning on a mountain in the

seaside town of Uljin and has

spread across more than 14,800

acres to the nearby city of

Samcheok, destroyed at least 159

homes and 46 other buildings

and prompted the evacuation of

more than 6,200 people.

— From news services

DIGEST

In S outh

Korea,

feminists

face sexist

backlash

Ahead of election,

male rage boils over

sociology professor at Sung-

kyunkwan University in Seoul.

The gender fight has now be-

come a defining election issue.

With the election neck-and-neck,

many observers believe that

youths could be the swing vote.

Both main contenders, con-

servative Yoon Seok-yeol and lib-

eral Lee Jae-myung, have vowed

to revamp or abolish the coun-

try’s Ministry for Gender Equali-

ty, alarming women’s rights advo-

cates, who say it performs an

essential role.

“While politicians stir up the

anti-feminist sentiment for at-

tention, young South Korean

women are seriously marginal-

ized with their voices underrep-

resented in the pivotal election,”

said Koo of Sungkyunkwan Uni-

versity.

Kim, the activist, says she feels

“robbed of my voting right.” At a

recent protest, her activist group,

Team Haeil, led some 200 women

who gathered in front of Seoul’s

Ministry of Gender Equality.

“Half of the voters are women,

but no policy for women,” the

protesters shouted, as they

marched from the ministry to

Seoul’s presidential Blue House.

Yoon, the conservative nomi-

nee, has said that he doesn’t t hink

systemic “structural discrimina-

tion based on gender” even exists.

In recent weeks, the liberal

nominee Lee has switched tactics

and worked to appeal to women,

appearing at rallies with young

female supporters and proposing

changes like protection for sexual

violence victims.

Experts, however, say that the

real problem, for both men and

women, are the deep economic

inequalities in society with a

need for major systemic change.

“Lacking a fundamental solu-

tion to underlying problems in

the economy and the job market,

politicians are pitting young men

and women against each other,”

said Kwon Myoung-a, head of

Institute for Gender and Affect

Studies at Dong-A University in

South Korea.

mind-altering substance.

With South Korea’s economic

growth slowing down after a

period of rapid growth in the

1970 s and 1980 s, fresh college

graduates now face a fiercely

competitive job market. In addi-

tion, men between ages 18 and 28

must serve 18 months in the

military — a tradition since the

Korean War that anti-feminists

see as unfairly disadvantaging

men in the job market.

When they seek to enter the

workforce, men in their 20s face

higher unemployment rates than

their female counterparts, on top

of the fact that female high school

graduates have higher college

acceptance rates than men.

“Young men in South Korea do

not enjoy the male privilege like

the older generation did, yet they

feel trapped by persisting expec-

tations for masculine duties, in-

cluding the mandatory military

service,” said Koo Jeong-woo, a

newspaper found that young

South Korean men feel “seriously

discriminated against” because

of their gender: 78.9 percent of

male respondents in their 20s,

roughly twice as high as respon-

dents in their 50s and 60s.

These men reject traditional

gender roles and their grievances

do not stem from an old-school

patriarchal worldview, the news-

paper said, instead they believe

South Korea has achieved gender

parity even while women still

enjoy unfair protection as “the

weaker party” in the society.

So, with each advance of wom-

en’s movement, their backlash

became more fierce. When “Kim

Jiyoung, Born 1982” went viral,

some young men set photos on

fire of a female K-pop star who

said she had read it. They have

invented their own vocabulary,

accusing people of “being femi,”

like having a mental illness, or

“doing femi,” like a harmful,

ty to balance work and child care.

Ten years ago, when South

Korea elected its first female

president, some were hopeful

that it could normalize the idea of

women in positions of power. But

Park Geun-hye was no beacon of

gender parity as the daughter of a

former president. She was later

impeached and removed in dis-

grace for corruption.

Her successor, Moon Jae-in,

pledged to be a “feminist presi-

dent.” But his record has not lived

up to his rhetoric. “A ll this under

a self-proclaimed feminist presi-

dent,” said Katharine Moon, po-

litical science professor at Welles-

ley College in Massachusetts and

an expert in South Korean gender

politics. “One wonders what

could have happen under a self-

proclaimed anti-feminist presi-

dent.”

Many young men of South

Korea see a different picture. A

survey last year by Hankook Ilbo

slipping away as they pack up for

mandatory military service —

from which women are exempt.

Rising income inequality and

housing prices have exacerbated

their vitriol.

Now, this gender battle has

made its way to the March 9

presidential election. The con-

servative candidate has long ap-

pealed to the men, while his

liberal challenger is only just now

making a last-ditch effort to win

over the women. Women’s voices

are largely drowned out by men’s

in politics, experts say.

The 2016 murder was a pivotal

moment that injected renewed

momentum into women’s rights

advocacy. A string of high-profile

#MeToo cases in 2018 brought

down powerful Korean men in

politics, arts and education,

prompting a wave of solidarity

and support for sexually assault-

ed women.

Through the “Escape the Cor-

set” protest, Korean women re-

jected unreal K-beauty standards

and the social pressure to con-

form. A feminist novel, “Kim

Jiyoung, Born 1982” swept popu-

lar culture by depicting a stay-at-

home mom’s experiences with

everyday sexism, helping women

feel seen.

But the fight for gender equali-

ty in South Korea can feel Sisy-

phean, with few lasting gains.

While workforce participation

for women in their 20s is higher

than their male counterparts,

data show it plummets in their

30s and 40s — a sign of their

persistent lack of upward mobili-

ty in the workplace once they are

expected to have children and

raise them.

The South Korean government

has been taking measures to in-

crease female participation in the

workforce, hiring more women in

the public sector and incentiviz-

ing private companies to do the

same. But the women who choose

to stay in the workforce say they

continue to face difficulties: un-

equal pay, discrimination in pro-

motion, harassment and difficul-

PHOTOS BY MIN JOO KIM FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

More than 200 female protesters gathered in central Seoul on Feb. 27, calling for women’s representation in South Korea’s presidential election. While the conservative

candidate doesn’t think systemic “structural discrimination based on gender” exists, the liberal contender is only now making a last-ditch effort to win over women.

Kim Ju-hee protests in front of the National Assembly in Seoul in August 2021 with a sign that reads

“Democracy without woman is not a democracy.” Kim says she feels “robbed of my voting right.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ta liban acting interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, center, attends a

graduation ceremony of Afghan police recruits in Kabul on Saturday.