South Korea’s 4B Movement Lowers the Birth Rate in a Fight for Gender Equality
South Korea currently has the world’s lowest fertility rate, with women having less than one child on average. The drop in South Korea’s fertility rate over the past few years results from the “4B Movement,” with the B’s representing the Korean words bihon, bichulsan, biyeonae, and bisekseu for marriage, childbirth, dating, and sex respectively. This movement is meant to combat South Korea’s patriarchal and misogynistic culture which has contributed to the oppression of women through traditional gender roles related to relationships and motherhood. The “birth strike” and “marriage strike” have grown in popularity over the last several years – with the reduced fertility rate as a serious expected outcome.
Several factors contributing to the low birth and fertility rate are economic. These include South Korea’s high costs of raising children, unaffordable housing, poor job prospects, and long working hours. Nonetheless, there are other factors which are more explicitly gendered and display the role that misogyny and sexism play in the low birth rate issue. Strong anti-feminist rhetoric blames feminists for the low birth rate, mothers face discrimination in the workplace, and gender-based violence is prevalent in relationships. These factors, in addition to gender norms placing the majority of household burdens on women, all effectively deter women from wanting to have children. They emphasize traditional gender roles by making women responsible for dealing with most of the challenges of having and raising children. Gender-based violence (GBV) also complicates marriage and childbirth. GBV is such a widespread issue that, when South Korean women successfully end a relationship without getting a violent reaction, they consider that a “safe breakup.”
Korean women’s engagement in the labor force is already low without considering the additional challenges that intersect with pregnant women and mothers. There is a prevalent issue of discrimination against hiring women which draws from the traditional gender roles expecting women to remain in the home. The gender pay gap also discourages women from entering the workforce. Mothers struggle to re-enter the workforce both because of workplace discrimination and because of familial expectations that require them to also handle childcare and household responsibilities.
The government’s treatment of the issue of gender equality has exacerbated the situation and inflamed the “birth strike” and “marriage strike.” President Yoon Suk Yeol used men’s frustrations surrounding this issue as part of his political platform, blaming feminism for the low birth rate while simultaneously claiming that gender inequality is not an issue in South Korea. Part of Yoon’s domestic agenda is to abolish Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality which has been active since 2001. This announcement sparked backlash from feminists and resulted in protests demanding that the government advance rather than hinder women’s rights. The government has further reversed the progress of women’s rights in Korea by removing “gender equality” as a term in school textbooks.
The Ministry of Gender Equality itself has been problematic since Yoon appointed Kim Hyunsook as Gender Equality Minister. Feminists and women’s rights activists have criticized her for overlooking or blatantly ignoring recent instances of GBV and misogyny as violent crimes against women. The President and Gender Equality Minister’s treatment of gender equality exemplifies misogyny as a deep-rooted issue in Korean society. This is the underlying problem women are addressing with their 4B Movement when refusing to be in relationships with men: society does not value them or treat them as equals.
There are valid concerns related to the plummeting birth and fertility rates namely the drastically changing demographic makeup of the country. As South Korea’s population ages, there is no younger generation to balance the population demographics. This trend is what led to the projection that over half of Korea’s population will be over the age of 65 by 2065. This has serious implications related to Korea’s economic and military capacity. Other countries have echoed South Korea’s “birth strike” – making it a transnational feminist movement. Women in China have started their own “four nos” movement, causing the population to start shrinking, and Japan is also experiencing a drastically lowered birth rate because of women’s reluctance to marry and have children.
There are several policy recommendations which could address both the concerns of the 4B Movement as well as the issue of the falling birth rate. The first involves increasing support for the work and existence of Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality. The Ministry has had a transformative impact on gendered issues within Korea, including normalizing parental leave for fathers and ensuring that women are more easily able to achieve workplace seniority. Additionally, the Gender Equality Minister should undergo training related to gender equality so that they will be more likely to recognize and acknowledge instances of gender-based violence and misogyny. The low birth rate in Korea is a gendered issue, and having a progressive Gender Equality Ministry will help facilitate responses to this issue.
Another recommendation is to enforce laws against workplace discrimination. There have been instances of companies taking discriminatory measures against mothers, such as pressuring pregnant women to quit their jobs. By legally removing this barrier to the participation of mothers in the workforce, this will hopefully encourage working women to see starting a family as a feasible goal, rather than an issue of choosing between work and family. Conversely, there should also be policies to support single women in Korea, such as lower taxes, career development, and affordable housing, to support women’s choice both to become mothers and wives and their agency to decide not to do so.
Author: Brianna Zimmermann
Managing Editor: Aidan Christopherson
Web Editor: Isaiah Nielsen