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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

Reading Time:5 minutes
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People in Seoul attend a #MeToo march on International Women’s Day on March 8, 2018. Photo: Reuters

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.

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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.”

Bae Ing-gyu dressed as the Joker in Busan, South Korea. Photo: YouTube
Bae Ing-gyu dressed as the Joker in Busan, South Korea. Photo: YouTube

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”.

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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.

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