Gender divide

 

One of the clearest and most intriguing voting patterns from last month’s U.S. presidential election was the gender divide among young voters. Six out of 10 American women aged 18 to 29 cast their ballots for Kamala Harris, while a similar proportion of young men voted for Donald Trump. This goes against the conventional wisdom that young people favor progressive politics.

This trend where young men lean toward the conservatives and young women toward the liberals is not confined to the United States. A similar pattern can be observed in other democracies like Germany and Britain. Yet, if there is one democracy where the gender divide among young people is most severe, it's Korea. According to the Financial Times analysis of the ideological gap among young people in several countries this year, Korea ranks highest in terms of the chasm. Likewise, a 2021 Ipsos poll found that Korea had the most acute perceptions of tension between men and women among 28 surveyed nations. A country known for its global cultural influence, thanks to the rise of K-pop and K-drama, is now also setting a grim standard in social division and polarization.

This was evident in Korea’s recent elections, including the 2022 presidential race and this year's general elections. Young Korean women overwhelmingly supported the liberal party and its candidates, while young men leaned heavily toward conservative alternatives. This gender divide is even more pronounced in Korea’s digital spaces, where the anonymity of the internet allows for more extreme expressions. Young men flock to the rapidly expanding online "manosphere," while young women engage in radical feminist communities. These factions often clash, trading personal attacks, hateful rhetoric and extreme speech, which spill over into real-world disputes over social policies and cultural norms. I saw this tension firsthand while teaching in Korea last year, where assigning group projects often revealed a strange discomfort between young men and women.

In many countries, a gender divide emerges as societies transition from traditional family structures to more egalitarian ones, with a significant increase in women entering the workforce. As women achieve higher education and career advancement, often better than men, some men may feel threatened or marginalized. Additionally, as women become more vocal about gender equality, a backlash can arise among men who perceive these movements as disregarding their own challenges.

But why is the gender divide particularly intense in Korea? A number of factors seem to be at play. First, Korea has historically had a particularly entrenched patriarchal culture. It wasn’t so long ago that, during major holidays, women were not permitted to eat at the same table as men. Now, with rapid shifts in cultural and gender roles, confusion, resentment and backlash are almost inevitable. This cultural change is compounded by Korea's hyper-competitive education and job markets. Policies perceived as favoring one gender, like affirmative action for women or gender-based support programs, often ignite intense frustration and anger. A case in point is Korea’s mandatory military service for men. Many young men resent the fact that Korean women are exempt from this duty, seeing it as an unfair burden.

Then, there’s the influence of social media. Young Koreans are the first digitally native generation in one of the most digitally connected countries in the world. They live in echo chambers curated by social media algorithms, rarely sharing common cultural experiences. Instead, men and women consume different content, leading to radically divergent perspectives on gender-related issues. The result is a lack of mutual understanding and a deep polarization that goes beyond politics, affecting social attitudes and personal relationships.

The consequences of this gender divide are severe. Distrust between young men and women has reached a point where they often view each other as adversaries. This distrust may be one reason behind Korea's declining birth and marriage rates, the lowest in the world. To make matters worse, politicians frequently exploit these tensions for political gain, deepening divisions instead of addressing them.

If Korea’s gender divide is not addressed, the country risks further fragmentation and even mutual destruction. Young men and women must find a way to understand each other’s struggles and to work together rather than retreat into isolated factions.

Korea has already demonstrated its ability to redefine itself on the world stage, showing remarkable creativity and adaptability. Perhaps the most important transformation it faces now is not in entertainment or technology but in building a society where young people can move beyond the bitterness of division toward genuine solidarity.

Min Seong-jae (smin@pace.edu) is a professor of communication and media studies at Pace University in New York. He was a 2023-24 Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Korea.