JINJU: Aspiring South Korean writer On Ji-goo She never considered herself a feminist, but changed her mind after being physically attacked by a man for having short hair.
“I know you’re a feminist,” her attacker yelled as he beat her at the store where she worked part-time.
Her 20-year-old assailant also seriously assaulted an elderly man who tried to intervene, telling him: “Why don’t you stand up for your fellow man?”
On was left with hearing loss and severe trauma, but insisted on pressing charges — resulting in a landmark ruling last month in which, for the first time in South Korea, a court recognized misogyny as a motive for a hate crime .
“Now I think I’m 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 became an unwitting heroine of the country’s women’s rights movements.
Short hair has been very loosely associated with feminism in South Korea, which remains socially conservative despite its booming economy and the global popularity of its K-pop and K-drama content.
Same-sex marriage is not recognized and advanced economies have relatively low female labor force participation rates and one of the worst gender pay gaps.
– Militant moments –
As part of the global #MeToo movement that emerged around 2017, women in South Korea staged massive rights demonstrations and won victories on issues ranging from abortion access to tougher penalties for spy camera crimes.
At their most militant, some activists have gone viral by destroying makeup products or cutting their hair short on camera to protest the country’s demanding beauty standards.
It also saw the rise of the extreme 4B movement, which rejects dating, sex, marriage or procreation with men.
The move, which means “Four Nos” in Korean, has been trending since Donald Trump won the US presidential election.
But South Korea has also seen a recent backlash against feminism, with President Yoon Suk Yeol wooing young people on the campaign trail with denials of institutional discrimination against women and promises to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality, which his supporters considered ” obsolete”.
The backlash has previously caught unsuspecting victims, such as triple Olympic archery champion An San, who was bullied online during the 2021 Tokyo Games for her short hair.
Writer On said he followed the furor at the time, even reporting abuse he saw online.
“When I first heard that having short hair meant you were a feminist, I thought it was absurd,” said On.
“Athletes often find it more convenient to have short hair when training,” she added, noting that she had cut her hair short before being bullied last year because of the hot weather.
Archer An has never officially commented on the online abuse, and “her pride and confidence, along with her ability to simply ignore the negativity, was really impressive,” On said.
“Over time, I found myself (inspired by) her sense of dignity and confidence … thinking, ‘Is this really something I should be ashamed of?’
Does it get worse?
A number of high-profile fake pornography cases have been uncovered this summer, targeting female students and staff at schools and universities across the country.
A Seoul court last month jailed a perpetrator for 10 years for assaulting women attending classes at the country’s largest Seoul 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 point out that no matter how accomplished a woman is, she can be trampled on and treated as a joke by men”.
Activists like Jung Yun-jung, who supported On through her trial, say the situation could worsen as inequality and competition for jobs increase.
South Korea has one of the world’s lowest birth rates as well as a falling marriage rate, with experts pointing to intense competition for jobs and housing as a factor, leaving young people discouraged about their future.
On still takes medication to treat the mental and physical wounds of her assault, but has found purpose in supporting other women who may find themselves victimized in similar circumstances.
Feminism, ultimately, is about believing that “women’s rights are just as important,” she said.
“In that sense, I was really a feminist even before the incident.”