The South Korean 4B Movement, short for “Four No’s”, involves not dating men, getting married, having kids, and having sex. The 4B movement in South Korea has seen a spike in interest in the US amid the US Election results in 2024.
On November 6, Wednesday morning, amid Donald Trump’s re-election in 2024, many US women are finding solace and inspiration in an unlikely space, the 4B Movement.
The 4B Movement encourages women to boycott traditional roles and relationships with men.
The 4B Movement in South Korea emerged in 2019. The 4B Movement stands for four Korean words beginning with “bi”, or “No” in English. no marriage, no childbirth, no dating, and no sexual relationship.
The supporters of the women-led movement boycotting to date, sex, childbirth, and marriage with men. The supporters are boycotting the traditional system they feel perpetuates gender inequity.
Throughout Donald Trump’s re-election campaign in 2024, the former president has celebrated the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v Wade. It is a ruling that closed a nationwide right to abortion.
However, after Trump declared victory over Democratic nominee Harris, some Americans felt reaffirmed in their belief that most of the US would rather anyone else as president than a woman.
Maybe, that’s why, interest has spiked in the US in South Korea’s 4B Movement just hours after Trump’s win.
One woman wrote on Twitter/ X that it was the right time for American women to get influenced by Korea’s 4B Movement.
Another user echoed, “American women, it’s time to learn from Koreans and adopt the 4B movement”. Meanwhile, a third person wrote that the South Korean women are doing it.
It is the right time for the American women to join them. She also added that men will not be rewarded, nor have access to women’s bodies.
Supporters of the 4B Movement view marriage as an existential threat to women, much like in the US, South Korean women are also subjected to a gender pay gap.
American women earn 82 cents for every dollar earned by men, while South Korean women earn 31 per cent less than men. It seems to be the highest gender pay gap in democratic countries.
According to a 2018 report, in the past nine years, at least 824 women have been killed and 602 were put at a death risk due to intimate partner violence. A 2021 study further found that one in three Korean women faced domestic violence.
However, the 4B Movement fueled growing tension between men and women. This cultural attitude echoes in the US, where men are struggling with shifting gender roles.
Many American men are drawn to vote for conservative candidates, like Trump. Trump promised to return the traditional values and prioritize men’s interests at the expense of women’s autonomy.