Aspiring South Korean writer On Ji-goo never considered herself a feminist, but changed her mind after she was physically attacked by a man for having short hair.
“I know you’re a feminist,” her attacker shouted as he beat her at the convenience store where she worked part-time.
His attacker, aged in his 20s, also seriously attacked an older man who tried to intervene, telling him: “Why aren’t you supporting a fellow man?”
He lost his hearing and suffered severe trauma, but he insisted on pressing charges – resulting in a landmark verdict last month where, for the first time in South Korea, a court recognized misogyny as a motive for a hate crime. .
“I now feel like I’m a feminist,” On, who wanted to use her surname for security reasons, told AFP in an interview.
The Changwon District Court ruling “has historical significance, but it means even more to me personally,” he said.
The attack sparked outrage in South Korea and On became an unwitting heroine of the country’s women’s rights movements.
Short hair is strongly associated with feminism in South Korea, which remains socially conservative despite its growing economy and the global popularity of K-pop and K-drama content.
Same-sex marriage is not recognized, and advanced economies have relatively low rates of female workforce participation and one of the worst gender pay gaps.
#MeToo, 4B moments
As part of the global #MeToo movement that emerged around 2017, South Korean women held massive rights demonstrations and won victories over issues ranging from abortion access to harsher punishment for spycam crimes.
Some campaigners went viral by destroying makeup products or cutting their hair short on camera in protest of the country’s demanding beauty standards.
It also saw the rise of the extreme 4B movement, which rejects dating, sex, marriage, or having children with men.
The movement, which means “four noses” in Korean, has been trending since Donald Trump won the US presidential election.
But South Korea has also seen a recent anti-feminist backlash, with President Yoon Suk Yeol denying institutional discrimination against women and promising to dismantle the gender equality ministry, leading young men to campaign. Its supporters claim that it has become “outdated”.
The backlash has previously implicated unsuspecting victims such as triple Olympic archery champion Ann San, who was bullied online for her short hair during the 2021 Tokyo Games.
Author On said she followed the furore at the time, even reporting the online abuse she saw. On said, “When I first heard that having short hair meant you were a feminist, I thought it was absurd.”
“Athletes often find it more comfortable to have short hair during training,” he said, adding that he had cut his hair short last year before the hot weather struck.
Archer Ann never officially commented on the online abuse, and her “pride and confidence, as well as her ability to ignore the negativity, was really impressive,” Onn said.
“Over time, I found myself (inspired) by her sense of dignity and confidence… wondering: ‘Is this really something I should be ashamed of?'”
getting worse?
This summer saw several cases of high-profile deepfake pornography targeting female students and staff in the country’s schools and universities.
A Seoul court last month sentenced a perpetrator to 10 years in prison for attacking women studying at the country’s top Seoul National University, saying his actions stemmed from “hatred toward socially successful women.” .
One victim, who goes by the pseudonym Ruma, told AFP that her attacker “wanted to emphasize that no matter how accomplished a woman is, she can be crushed and treated like a joke by men.” Can be done.”
Activists like Jang Eun-jung, who supported On in her lawsuit, say increased inequality and competition for jobs could worsen the situation.
South Korea has one of the world’s lowest birth rates as well as falling marriage rates, with experts saying intense competition over jobs and housing is a factor causing young people to despair about their future.
On is still taking medication to treat the mental and physical scars of her attack, but she has found purpose in supporting other women who may find themselves victims in similar circumstances.
Feminism, ultimately, is about believing that “women’s rights are just as important”, she said.
“In that sense, I was actually a feminist even before the incident.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
