South Korea’s a’s feminist army my shuns marriage age

WAVES of South Korean women men are joining a radical feminist movement ovement that renounces marriage, the raising of children, dating and sex to challenge hallenge patriarchal restrictions on their ir lives.

Thousands signed up to the e “4B” or “Four No’s” campaign against discrimination, as marriage and birth rth rates plunge. A YouTube channel featuring boycotts of marriage and child d rearing has more than 100,000 subscribers. ibers.

Many of the concerns about a stifling family life are reflected in bestselling estselling novel Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, , by Cho Nam-joo. The book, which was as drawn into a battle of the sexes in South outh Korea, was released in the UK last t week. It sold more than one million copies in Asia and a film of it was blamed ed on social media for splitting up couples. ples.

It chronicles the struggles of married Kim Jiyoung who is made e to give up work to raise her child, and d its publication coincided with a sea change hange in South Korea as the MeToo movement ovement took hold. Ms Cho said: “Because use of my book I think a lot of women’s ’s issues, their lives, work and childcare, e, which weren’t receiving a lot of attention, ttention, gained more.” Women have protested in public in an unprecedented manner, against sexual harassment, , unfair wages and spycam pornography. hy.

South Korea has the world’s ’s lowest birth rate. In 2018, it dipped below elow the symbolic one baby per woman n for the first time, and fell to 0.87 last year; ear; 2.1 is needed for a stable population. .

There has been a backlash: when Kpop star Irene said she had read the novel, male fans abused her online. nline. But Ms Cho believes there is hope: “Change is happening. Laws regarding g sexual violence are becoming stronger. nger. Today’s generation ... they can be the people who bring about a tipping point.”