Jason Lim is a Washington, D.C.-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture.
Goodbye Romeo and Juliet; Hello Heathcliff and Catherine
Koreans often characterize their culture as a "pot" culture. No, I don’t mean the kind of pot you smoke; I’m referring to a pot as in pots and pans. This metaphor is used to describe a culture that quickly adopts the latest trends, ideas and outrages, only to discard them just as rapidly —much like how a pot boils water and then loses heat.
While this description is meant to be derisive, it often makes Korea useful as a prognosticator of global trends that might not become visible as quickly as they do in Korea. The growing political divergence between young men and women is a case in point.
According to The Guardian, “In 2024, men aged between 18 and 29 turned out in force for Trump, with the Republican winning the demographic by 14 points, overturning a generational trend that has for decades seen young people favor left-leaning candidates.” This trend contrasts with recent polls whereby young women, particularly those under 30, overwhelmingly support progressive candidates who champion reproductive rights, climate action and social justice.
South Korea’s 2022 presidential election displayed strikingly similar patterns, underscoring how gender identity and generational shifts shape electoral outcomes in distinct cultural and political contexts. Young voters emerged as a decisive force, with gender playing an outsized role in determining preferences. Conservative candidate Yoon Suk Yeol secured a narrow victory, largely thanks to the support of young men, while his progressive opponent Lee Jae-myung garnered significant backing from young women. Much like in the U.S., this divide reflected fundamentally different worldviews and priorities.
A major flashpoint in South Korea was feminism and gender equality. According to annual surveys, South Korea has one of the largest gender pay gaps among OECD countries and a persistent issue with workplace discrimination. Despite these challenges, many young men felt alienated by feminist movements and affirmative action policies, which they perceived as disadvantaging them in an already hyper-competitive society. Mandatory military service, which robs young men of two years of their most productive years fed into this grievance. Yoon tapped into this sentiment by pledging to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, framing it as unnecessary and unfair to men. On the other hand, young women rallied behind progressive policies that sought to address systemic sexism and violence against women. High-profile cases of digital sex crimes and gender-based violence, amplified by movements like #MeToo, had galvanized this demographic, who saw the progressive agenda as their best hope for structural reform.
While these opposing trends reflect genuine grievances and aspirations, these divisions were not just about specific policies but about identity and survival in a rapidly changing world, especially for young men who face diminishing economic prospects. Rising costs of living, stagnant wages and housing crises have left many feeling disillusioned. In South Korea, “Hell Joseon” became a popular term among young people to describe the lack of upward mobility and the culture of giving up life’s rites of passage — such as dating, marriage and kids — as luxuries that they can’t afford. At the same time, the traditional family value whereby men are supposed to provide for the family is persistent, creating a no-win situation for young men that hits them where it hurts the most: self-identity.
In fact, according to Dan Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life at the American Enterprise Institute, “The economic and employment picture for younger men without college degrees is significantly worse than previous generations… These sort of traditional norms around masculinity and what it means to be a man and a husband are wrapped up in economic success, and that makes it really, really challenging when their economic outlook is not as bright.”
For young men, these struggles often manifest as resentment toward policies they perceive as prioritizing women’s issues over broader economic concerns that affect young men’s prospects the most. This resentment is worsened by dating apps. Previously, dating and mating were limited to meeting someone generally compatible within your geographic area. Dating apps eliminated that boundary to a large extent, but, ironically, apparently made dating options more limiting for a vast majority of men who don’t belong in the top tier in terms of physical attractiveness and socioeconomic status. As a result, young men with decreasing economic prospects are facing ever-diminishing chances of even matching on a dating app, let alone actually physically meeting a woman for a date. Add to this the fact that women, as a group, have been outperforming men in education and the workplace for the past generation, making young men’s prospects comparably worse since hypergamy is a factor when a woman chooses a partner.
No money and no woman is tolerable if it can be counterbalanced with some kind of hope that the situation will get better. But combine that with no prospects and no hope, then you have young men looking for something different.
Jason Lim (jasonlim@msn.com) is a Washington-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect The Korea Times’ editorial stance.