In many countries, young voters are presumed to lean liberal. Until recently, that was also true in South Korea. But in the last few years, young male South Korean voters have made a sharp rightward turn. In the Seoul mayoral by-election held in April, a staggering 72.5 percent of male voters in their 20s voted conservative, a proportion higher even than male voters in their 60s and older (70.2 percent). Fueled by aggressive misogyny and a distorted worship of supposed meritocracy, young Korean men are heralding an ominous new chapter in South Korea’s conservative politics, especially as a new conservative party leader echoes misogynist rhetoric.
Young voters were a significant presence in the 2016-2017 Candlelight Struggle that led to the impeachment and ousting of conservative South Korean President Park Geun-hye. South Korean political discourse at the time spoke of the “Sewol Generation,” who were galvanized by the Park administration’s mishandling of the Sewol ferry disaster, where more than 300 passengers—many of whom were high school students on a field trip—perished in the sinking ship. Strong youth support carried over to the early part of the liberal administration that followed Park’s impeachment. In the first monthly poll by Gallup Korea of the Moon Jae-in administration, conducted in June 2017, 90 percent of those in their 20s supported the president, higher than the 81 percent overall approval rating.
