Meet the incels and anti-feminists in Asia

KIM WOO-SeoK, a 31-year-old chef in Seoul, grew up questioning the way society treats women. He felt sorry for his stay-at-home mother. He considered himself a feminist. But in recent years, his opinions have changed. When he encountered female activists online, he was shocked to see that some of them were making demeaning comments about men, including making fun of small penises. “I felt like my masculinity was under attack,” Mr. Kim says. He believes that since the 2010s, Korean society has become more discriminatory against men than women. Although he has a girlfriend, many of those who share his beliefs in the area do not.

In advanced countries, the gender gap has widened, with young men tending to be more conservative and young women more liberal. The trend is particularly striking in East Asia. Men do not adapt well to a society in which women are more educated, compete with them for jobs, and do not want to have children with them. According to a survey carried out in 2021, 79% of South Korean men in their 20s believe they are victims of “reverse discrimination”. In neighboring Japan, a survey the same year found that 43 percent of men aged 18 to 30 “hate feminism.”