Behind a backlash to feminism in South Korea

A local politician’s comments connecting a rise in male suicide attempts to women being in the workforce is part of a broader backlash to a feminist awakening in South Korea. The fight against rampant sexism and gender-based violence includes the growing 4B movement, which calls for women to refuse marriage, childbirth, dating, and sex with men.

In this episode:

Haein Shim, (@HaeinShim) Freelance Journalist Lee Yeeun, 4B Movement Activist and Escape The Corset Movement Activist

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Tamara Khandaker, Chloe K. Li, and Ashish Malhotra, with Duha Mosaad, Manahil Naveed, Mohammed Zain Shafi Khan, Veronique Eshaya, and our host Malika Bilal.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Joe Plourde mixed this episode. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera Al Dosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al-Jazeera’s head of audio.

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The Take is a daily interview-driven international news podcast hosted by award-winning journalist Malika Bilal. Each episode focuses on conversations with journalists and people directly impacted by the news of the day, offering our listeners the context necessary to understand what's in the headlines.

With millions of global listens, it's clear the conversations we're having on The Take are worth hearing. And critics think so too. The show has won the Online Journalism Awards, the Signal Awards, Lovie Awards, and Anthem Awards, among others.

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