Culture | Feminism in South Korea

Inside the fight against misogyny and patriarchy in South Korea

In “Flowers of Fire”, Hawon Jung chronicles an urgent—and unfinished—campaign

Female workers supporting the MeToo movement wearing black attend a rally to mark the International Women's Day in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, March 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
The reckoning continuesImage: AP

On a chilly morning in March 2018, women in South Korea were invited to a rally in the centre of Seoul, the capital, to share their stories of sexism. As the first speakers took to the stage, some of the #MeToo activists who had organised the event worried there would be too few participants to keep it going. They needn’t have. Woman after woman stepped up to recount experiences of discrimination, abuse or violence. The testimony lasted over 33 hours. One contributor, a mask concealing her identity but not her tears, explained: “I had to come here, to tell other women like me that they are not alone.”

Explore more

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “The fire this time”

From the April 8th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Culture

Daou and Offroad

Fans are going crazy for Thai television shows and music

Behind the “Boys’ Love” and “Girls’ Love” craze

An illustration of pink praying hands holding a phone and a rosary with a tiktok logo.

How TikTok became a religious pulpit

Social media are changing people’s faith in unexpected ways


Detail from "L'État de veille" by Rene Magritte

Why auction houses are turning to private sales

Customers want instant gratification. Sellers want price control


Have doctors been wrong about how to treat Alzheimer’s disease?

A new book argues that dogma and bad science led Alzheimer’s research astray

It’s spellbinding! Riveting! A triumphant tour de force!

Simon & Schuster is cutting back on book blurbs. Good