In 2016, the murder of an innocent woman in a Gangnam, South Korea train station shocked the world when a man hiding in a gender-neutral restroom committed the atrocious act. While detained, the man claimed he did so out of his "hatred for women."
4B Movement and Societal Pressure
This event went on to inspire the South Korean"4B Movement," which can be described as a form of "radical feminism." The movement shuns four words that begin with the Korean equivalent of the “B” sound: marriage, dating, childbearing and sexual relations with men.
The motivation for such an organization lies in the fact that there is no shortage of pressure for South Korean women to embrace traditional gender roles and prioritize the home. However, starting a family often comes at the cost of pursuing personal fulfillment and career advancement —they are forced to juggle both worlds with minimal support, leaving many women feeling upset and disillusioned.
Participants of the movement opt out of a system of which they feel objectifies them and does not value or even understand their desires. Although the number is not exact, the movement claims to have around 4,000 members, which is considerably small, compared to the country's population.
Declining Birth Rate
While the movement is small-scale, it highlights frustrations with the system. These problems, paired with economic instability, have put into motion the decline of the nation’s birth rate. While the government has made attempts to convince citizens to have children, economic factors have caused them to be largely unsuccessful. As societal expectations for women change, women gain reproductive freedoms and economic issues increase, birth rates have declined globally.
The already declining birthrate is at an all-time low and remains the worst in the world. Statistics show that in 2023, South Korea’s birth rate hit its lowest point at .72 births a year, meaning women have an average of less than one birth per year in the country.
The U.S. has the potential to follow in South Korea’s footsteps if it does not address the social and economic issues that are proven to discourage childbirth.
Encouraging Childbirth
However, the birth rate isn’t necessarily connected to the movement. Children are the least of South Korean citizens' worries as they struggle to make a living wage. A housing crisis has impacted the population, and costs have only continued to increase. Additionally, jobs are increasingly scarce, and work conditions that are less than ideal leave workers too exhausted to consider children.
South Korea has made efforts to incentivize childbirth. They have provided designated special seating in public transport, medical badges that indicate a woman is pregnant and stipends that support childcare costs until the child is one year old. The list also includes paid parental leave for one year, as well as free or very low-cost pre and postnatal care. Childbirth classes are also included.
However, they do not address the root cause: citizens don't believe having children is worth it when they are struggling to survive. These programs offer short-term relief for a problem citizens don't see a need to inflict upon themselves to begin with. Until the government can alleviate the financial burden of housing and wages, the birth rate will continue to decline.
U.S. Correlations
Despite this, a declining birth rate is not exclusive to South Korea: The global birth rate has been projected to decline from 2.3 to 2.1 by 2050. In 2020, the U.S. saw 43 out of 53 states experience an uncharacteristically low birth/fertility rate. Now, much like South Korea, the U.S. government has decided to look reflectively at what that means for the future of the country. If low fertility trends continue as they do, the U.S. Census Bureau predicts that by 2034 the amount of people over the age of 65 will outnumber the amount of kids under the age of 18 for the first time in the country’s history.
After the election, the U.S's interest in the 4B movement spiked. Former president Donald Trump, who was responsible for repealing Roe v. Wade and has a history of sexual misconduct allegations, inspired the conversation of what women were going to do to protect themselves during his upcoming presidency.
Additionally, talks of removing women from military positions have only stoked the fires of making women feel unheard, undervalued and subject to the whims of men.
Where Does That Leave Us?
While the 4B Movement is only vocalized by a small group in South Korea, the U.S.'s track record suggests that it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that we have the potential to surpass South Korea in our application.
The U.S. is seeing a lot of similar issues: a housing crisis, demanding work environments and a declining birthrate. 4B could be the start of a new wave of feminism, or it could just be a phase, much like the viral TikTok sounds that come and go. Nevertheless, the U.S. birth rate has continued to decline, and South Korea serves as a potential glimpse into our future.
Acknowledgement: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual author.
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