Feminism Must Evolve into Humanism!

Conservatives in Korea have historically paid relatively little attention to feminism. Overshadowed by economic and national security issues, feminism remained largely outside the conservative agenda.

That changed during the last presidential election, when feminism first emerged as a visible issue within conservative politics, largely in the form of anti-feminism. For many women in their twenties and thirties, this became an occasion to perceive conservatism as anti-woman.

Is conservatism inherently anti-woman?

This book seeks to answer that question by presenting, for the first time in modern Korean political discourse, what it describes as an authentically conservative approach to feminism.

Chapter 1. Radical Feminism Shakes Korean Society

Oh Serabi

Western Feminism and the Women’s Movement · 22

Korean Radical Feminism at a Crossroads · 28

Chapter 2. The Revolt of the MZ Generation

The Emergence of Radical Feminism among the Megalia Generation · 42

The Keyword of “Misogyny” · 47

The Heyday of Academic Feminists · 50

The MZ Generation Inherits the Burdens of Older Generations of Men · 60

The Burden of Mandatory Military Service Borne Solely by Men · 66

Why Men of the MZ Generation Do Not Accept the Claim of “Discrimination against Women” · 74

A Loss for Both Men and Women · 85

Chapter 3. The Gender Pay Gap: Difference or Discrimination?

Son Sook-mee

Korea’s OECD-Leading Gender Pay Gap · 90

Is the Pay Gap a Matter of Difference or Discrimination? · 97

Chapter 4. Does Feminism Contribute to Declining Birth Rates?

A Total Fertility Rate Seen Otherwise Only amid Systemic Collapse · 104

Barriers to Marriage as a Cause of Declining Birth Rates · 108

Does Feminism Raise the Barriers to Marriage? · 113

Chapter 5. A Fresh and Vibrant Conservative Feminism

The Fate of Progressive Feminism · 124

Radical Feminism Erases the Very Existence of Women · 132

Is Anti-Feminism a Uniquely Korean Phenomenon? · 138

Is Conservatism Anti-Woman? · 141

A Fresh and Vibrant Conservative Feminism · 149

From Feminism to Gender Equality! · 155

Conservative Feminism and Harmonious Gender Equality · 159

Chapter 6. Beyond Feminism, Toward Humanism

Familism as the Ultimate Conservative Value · 166

Groundbreaking Institutional Reforms for Families Based on Harmonious Gender Equality · 182

Beyond Feminism, Toward Humanism! · 190