The Korean feminist movement 4B, which first started in 2019 on Twitter, is blowing up on TikTok.
In a nutshell, it advocates for women to reject gender norms, including marriage and child-rearing, basically boycotting men in protest of the country’s rampant misogyny.
Initiated by author Cho Nam-Joo, who coined the term in her 2016 novel Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, the 4Bs stand for four principles: “Bihon” (no heterosexual marriage), “bichulsan” (no childbirth), “biyeonae” (no dating men) and “bisekseu” (no heterosexual sexual relationships).
The previously obscure movement was recently thrust into the spotlight after popular YouTubers Jung Se-young and Baeck Ha-na said via their channel SOLOdarity that marriage was the “root cause of patriarchy”.
The two also encouraged women to reject traditional feminine duties, like getting married and raising children.
The 4B movement then exploded on TikTok after a TikToker named Jeanie, who goes by denimchromosome, gave a spirited rant about it on February 17.
She said the 4B movement is women’s response to “giving up” on men, whom she referred to as “f**king a*******”, adding that women are going to go “extinct”.
“Korean ethnicity is about to go away, and Korean women are literally like…,” Jeanie added while holding up her middle finger.
Her point was that Korean women are tired of the misogyny and hence are going to boycott heterosexual relationships and other feminine norms.
The video now has over 5.5 million views and thousands of comments, mostly from women calling for the 4B movement to go beyond the shores of Korea.
Unsurprisingly, those against the movement have claimed that the 4B movement is the cause behind the low birth rate in Korea.
Korea already holds the title for the world’s lowest birth rate and in 2023, hit an all-time low at only 0.78, compared to the global average of 2.3.
Singapore’s birth rate is at 0.93, also a record low.
According to a study on anti-family sentiments in Korea, 65 per cent of women surveyed do not want children.
Media reports have also suggested that the 4B movement is in retaliation to recent incidents including high-profile murders of women, revenge porn, and “spy-cam” sex crimes.
There was even an instance in Korea where a man who murdered a young woman in a public bathroom claimed to do so because she ignored him.
However, the police did not classify it as a hate crime.
Netizens aired their thoughts online on other sites, many saying such a movement is a long time coming and a “rational response to the male-dominated culture of Korea”.
“Well done, Korea! Such movements should be normalised so women can make the same choices as men with no fear of pressure or backlash instead of conforming to society’s expectations,” wrote a user.
However, some female Korean bloggers have dismissed the 4B movement as an exaggeration of Western ideologies and represents a very small part of the population.