Shortcut to Feminism: How an Attack Changed Korean Women's Outlook - News

About Ji-goo (L), who wanted to use her pseudonym and refused to reveal her face for security reasons, and Jung Yun-jung (R), an activist who supported On during her trials, during an interview at a support center for sexual assault victims violence in Jinju. –AFP

Aspiring South Korean writer On Ji-goo has 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 in the convenience store where she worked part-time.

Her attacker, in his 20s, also seriously assaulted an elderly man who tried to intervene, telling him: “Why don’t you support a fellow human being?”

On was left with hearing loss and severe trauma, but insisted on pressing charges – resulting last month in a landmark ruling in which, for the first time in South Korea, a court recognized misogyny as a motive for a hate crime.

“I now think I am a feminist,” On, who wanted to use her pseudonym for security reasons, told AFP in an interview.

The Changwon District Court ruling “has historical significance, but it seems to have even greater significance for me personally,” she said.

The attack sparked outrage in South Korea and On inadvertently became a heroine for the country’s women’s rights movements.

Short hair is very loosely associated with feminism in South Korea, which remains socially conservative despite its booming economy and the global popularity of K-pop and K-drama content.

As part of the global #MeToo movement that emerged around 2017, South Korean women held huge rights demonstrations and won victories on issues from access to abortion to harsher penalties for espionage crimes.

In their most militant moments, some campaigners have gone viral by destroying make-up products or cutting their hair short on camera, in protest against the country’s exacting beauty standards.

It also saw the rise of the extreme 4B movement, which rejects dating, sex, marriage and having children with men.

The movement, which means “Four No” in Korean, has been trending since Donald Trump won the US presidential election.

But South Korea has also recently faced an anti-feminism backlash, with President Yoon Suk Yeol courting young men on the campaign trail with denials of institutional discrimination against women and promises to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality, which his supporters claimed it was ‘outdated’.

The backlash has previously claimed unsuspecting victims, such as three-time Olympic archery champion An San, who was bullied online for her short hair during the 2021 Tokyo Games.

Writer On said she followed the furor at the time and even reported online abuse she saw.

“When I first heard that short hair meant you were a feminist, I thought it was absurd,” On said.

“Athletes often find it more convenient to have short hair when training,” she added, noting that she had cut her own hair short before she was attacked last year due to the hot weather.

Archer An never officially commented on the online abuse, and her “pride and confidence, along with her ability to simply ignore negativity, was truly impressive,” On said.

“Over time, I found myself (inspired by) her sense of dignity and self-confidence…thinking, ‘Is there really anything I should be ashamed of?'”

A wave of high-profile deepfake pornography cases were discovered this summer, targeting female students and staff at the country’s schools and universities.

A Seoul court last month sentenced an perpetrator to 10 years in prison for assaulting women attending Seoul’s top national university, saying his actions stemmed from “hatred of socially successful women.”

One victim, whose campaign name is Ruma, told AFP that her attacker “wanted to emphasize that no matter how talented a woman is, she can be trampled on by men and treated like a joke.”

Activists such as Jung Yun-jung, who supported On during her trial, say the situation could worsen as inequality and competition for jobs increase.

South Korea has one of the lowest birth rates in the world and a declining marriage rate. Experts point out that intense competition for jobs and housing is a factor leaving young people despondent about their future.

On is still taking medication to treat the mental and physical wounds from her attack, but she has found purpose in supporting other women who may fall victim to similar circumstances.

Feminism is ultimately about the belief that “women’s rights are just as important,” she said.

“In that sense, I had indeed been a feminist even before the incident.”