Angry young men in Korea
By Jason Lim Much has been made over recent poll numbers that suggest young Korean men in their 20s and 30s are peeved at President Moon Jae-in for favoring women over men in his policies. The South China Morning Post, in an article titled, “Why has the support for South Korea's President Moon Jae-in collapsed among young men?” writes, “In a survey carried out by South Korean polling firm Realmeter last month, just 29.4 per cent of men in their 20s said they approved of Moon, compared to 64.5 percent of women in the same age bracket.” Compare that to the 87 percent support that Moon enjoyed from the same demographics at the beginning of his administration. According to newspaper reports, Korea's young men feel as if they are being unfairly penalized by their 2-year mandatory military service during the golden years of their lives. They point out that young women use this time to earn money, advance their careers, and, in general, invest in their future to get a leg up in the economic competition against men. This sense of unfairness is sharpened by the burgeon
