Book chapter
Online Politics and Gendered Transformation: Historical Contours of Contestation
The Routledge Companion to Gender, Sexuality and South Korea, pp.393-402
Routledge
2026
DOI: 10.4324/9781003625346-40
Abstract
Since the 2010s in South Korea, gender has replaced traditional ideological divides as the primary fault line in the country's digital sphere. This chapter traces the gendered transformation of online politics from the 2000s to the 2020s, identifying three distinct developmental phases. As neoliberal restructuring intensified, a first phase (2008-2015) emerged in which young men channeled grievances about economic precarity into "routinized misogyny" while marginalizing women's voices. This shifted into a second phase of explicit confrontation (2015-2021), catalyzed by feminist activism following the formation of Megalia, the Gangnam Station murder and the #MeToo movement. During this period, an antifeminist backlash solidified around the discourse of "reverse discrimination." The third phase (2021-present) marks the formation of Idaenam (men in their 20s) subjectivity and the mainstreaming of misogyny in institutional politics. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the evolving intersection of gender and digital culture in South Korea.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Online Politics and Gendered Transformation: Historical Contours of Contestation
- Creators
- Jiyeon Kang
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Publication Details
- The Routledge Companion to Gender, Sexuality and South Korea, pp.393-402
- DOI
- 10.4324/9781003625346-40
- Publisher
- Routledge; New York, NY
- Alternative title
- Online Politics and Gendered Transformation
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2026
- Academic Unit
- Communication Studies
- Record Identifier
- 9985224436002771
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