Despite being a modern and innovative country, antifeminism has seen a surge in recent years in South Korea. Plagued by economic insecurities, young men in the country are increasingly directing...Show moreDespite being a modern and innovative country, antifeminism has seen a surge in recent years in South Korea. Plagued by economic insecurities, young men in the country are increasingly directing their anger towards their female counterparts, who receive structural preferential treatment in their eyes. Men’s rights groups and politicians have boldly taken hold of such rhetoric. No long-term study into exactly how these sentiments have influenced Korean politics beyond merely the conservative candidate Yoon SukYeol during the 2022 presidential elections has been conducted, however. Using the research question ‘’How did the antifeminism of the Korean men’s rights movement affect the main two parties’ narratives during and after the 2022 South Korean presidential elections?’’, this thesis aims to go beyond this, analyzing statements by the conservative and democratic political camps alike during and after the elections through a wide set of collected news articles. As is found, despite democratic politicians being less severe in their antifeminism and going into a more feminist direction since the 2022 elections, both the Democratic Party and the conservative People Power Party have made extensive use of a populist form of antifeminism in their political narratives. These findings not only contribute to the growing field of academics on populist antifeminism but are similarly an important warning for the societal dangers of division beyond electoral politics.Show less
