I am not sure how popular this supposed movement actually is in South Korea, but the declining birth rate is probably little effected by it when compared to other factors like the cost and stress of educating children:
Yoon Ji-hye speaks during an interview in Seoul’s Myungdong shopping district. | AFP-JIJI
Bonnie Lee doesn’t care about finding a boyfriend or a fairy-tale wedding, and will decide her own happily-ever-after: “I’m a straight woman who is no longer interested in having relationships with men.”
She is not alone.
A growing number of South Korean women are banding together to reject rigid patriarchal norms and vowing never to wed, have children or even date and have sex.
“I’ve always felt that as a woman there are more disadvantages than advantages to being married,” said Lee, a 40-something professional who lives with her dog near Seoul.
Now she has gone even further, embracing the nation’s radical feminist movement called 4B, from the “four nos”: no dating, no sex, no marriage and no child-rearing.
Probably not the best venue to let his views on radical feminists be known:
Rapper San E’s explosive remarks against online radical feminist communities during a concert have stirred up yet another controversy.
Hip-hop label Brand New Music held its year-end “Brand New Year 2018” concert at Jamil Olympic Stadium on Sunday.
There, San E offended females by saying in English, “Are there any WOMADs or Megalians (referring to online communities for radical groups that support misandry and female chauvinism) out there?
“One thing I want to say to you is that I don’t give a xxxx. Feminist NO, that’s mental sickness. WOMADs and Megalians are social evil.” After his remarks, the angry crowd shouted for an apology and the concert was interrupted for several minutes.
His appearance on stage had met with a chilly reception ― he recently came under fire for posting on YouTube a controversial song targeting feminists. [Korea Times]
Even fairy tale characters are no longer safe from accusations from feminists:
Gender Equality and Family Minister Chung Hyun-back recently accused the woodcutter, the character in the folktale “The Woodcutter and the Fairy,” which can be found in the children section at the Cheong Wa Dae website, to press for her case of feminism. Captured from Cheong Wa Dae website
A prominent lawyer says Gender Equality and Family Minister Chung Hyun-back’s depiction of a folktale hero as a kidnapper-rapist is not based on law but on herd mentality.
Hwang Ju-myung, a former judge and chairman of HMP Law, said Chung did not provide evidence to support her accusation and by her logic would have to prepare for a legal challenge from the woodcutter in the “Woodcutter and the Fairy.”
“Besides, it is being silly to accuse the character from the old story of such a heinous crime,” Hwang said when asked his legal view of the minister’s argument. “As far as the law is concerned, it is hard to find any indication in it that he resorted to coercion to have sex with the fairy or to force her to live with him.”
Chung claimed during a seminar Saturday: “When in elementary school, I took a great pity on the woodcutter but seen from the standpoint of the fairy, two children she had with him, and the fairy’s parents, he could be a kidnapper and rapist. The point of view should be changed in the context of achieving gender equality.”
The minister is a ferocious supporter of feminism and she attended a weekend pro-woman, anti-man protest and promised thousands of women that she wouldn’t forget their voices. [Korea Times]
You can read the rest at the link, but for those that have read this Korean fairy tale, there is no suggestion in the book that the woodcutter kidnapped and raped the fairy. I have to seriously wonder what is wrong with someone mentally to even think of something like that from this story? By the way it would be funny if someone sued Chung on behalf of the woodcutter for libel which this clear is.
Additionally when did it become okay to attend anti-man protests, especially a cabinet member in the South Korean government? What would people say if anti-women protests were held?
Some how I doubt the radical Islamists will try and exploit this Koran burning by a wacko Korean feminist group compared to when a wacko US preacher throated to burn the Koran and it landed him as number two on Al Qaida’s hit list:
WOMAD, a radical feminist group, has claimed one of its members burned a copy of the Quran, the central religious text of Islam.
The person who posted a picture of the burning Quran Wednesday said, “Muslim cockroaches and Korean men should be eliminated.”
It is unclear whether she actually burned the text and, if so, how she obtained it.
This came just a day after another member posted a photo of a Catholic sacramental wafer scribbled with foul language in red ink.
Following the news, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea (CBCK) denounced the posting as a serious insult to the Catholic Church and vowed to take action in response.
“In accordance with Catholic regulations, the CBCK is preparing the process to notify the Vatican through the Vatican ambassador in Seoul,” said priest Ahn Bong-hwan, spokesman of the CBCK.
Under the motto, “We hate all men,” WOMAD has gained notoriety for bashing religions and men since its 2016 inception. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but the wacko US preacher who threatened to burn Korans, worked as a Uber driver. Clearly his 15 minutes of fame is over.
Quartz.com has a long, but interesting read about the growing gender war in South Korea. Of course the Gangnam murder case is brought up of evidence of growing misogyny against women in South Korea without providing the context that the murder was by a schizophrenic homeless man who was in and out of mental hospitals. Regardless I think most people would agree there is room for improvement in South Korea in regards to the treatment of women. However, one group Megalia is accused of being a radical feminist group that is further dividing the sexes in South Korea with its various activities. The group’s logo in fact makes light of how small male penises are in South Korea.
In response to the growing feminist movement in Korea Korean men are now complaining they are being discriminated against and one guy even jumped off a bridge to promote the idea:
Speaking up for men’s rights isn’t a fringe idea in Korea—it has become mainstream. “What’s striking about the current situation is the extent to which… men seem to be feeling very comfortable in saying that women’s demands for greater rights or greater protection are misguided,” says Koo Se-woong, a former university teacher and managing editor of liberal news site Korea Expose.
In one extreme display of men’s rights, in 2013, the heavily indebted founder of men’s activism group Man of Korea (link in Korean), Song Jae-gi, decided to jump off a bridge to raise money for his group. TV cameras were present as he readied to throw himself into the Han River. Among the goals of Man of Korea was the abolishment of the government’s agency the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and compensation for Korean men who served in the military (all Korean men must serve two years in the army). His body was found a few days later. [Quartz.com]
Anyway for those that have 15 minutes to spare I recommend reading the whole article.
