Washington, US

The South Korean 4B movement has seen a spike in interest in the United States on social media after Donald Trump won the presidential election. It is a movement against patriarchy and American women are talking about it after Kamala Harris failed to win the support of the people of the country, yet another woman who failed to gain acceptance for the top post. 

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Some people in the country say that Trump's win is a reaffirmation of the belief that most Americans would rather have anyone else as president than a woman. 

This seems to have triggered an interest in South Korea's 4B movement that started in 2019. The four Bs stand for four Korean words beginning with “bi”( “no” in English). These are - bihon, meaning no heterosexual marriage; bichulsan, or no childbirth; biyeonae, no dating; and bisekseu, which means no heterosexual sexual relationships. 

In short, women who follow the 4B movement refuse to marry and date men, and have sex with or bear a man's child as they believe the system perpetuates gender inequity. Followers of the movement see marriage as an existential threat to women. 

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Also Read: Kamala Harris delivers defiant concession speech as Trump wins 2024 presidential election

Some messages written by American women about the 4B movement supported the idea, with one writing on X, "American women, looks like it’s time to get influenced by Korea’s 4B movement."

Another woman wrote,  “The women in South Korea are doing it. It’s time we join them. Men will NOT be rewarded, nor have access to our bodies.”

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Gender issues in Korea

Reports suggest that Korea has the highest gender pay gap in democratic countries. American women also report facing the same problem, with they typically earning 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. Meanwhile, South Korean women earn 31 per cent less than men.

Women in Korea also face violence, with a 2018 report suggesting that intimate partner violence (IPV) has led to the death of at least 824 women in the past nine years. Domestic violence is also a common problem faced by women in Korea.

The movement can also be attributed to the gender education gap in Korea, where more women are today pursuing higher education as compared to men. 

Among the 47 presidents the US has had, there has never been a female president. Hillary Clinton lost to Trump in 2016 and now Harris also faced the same fate.