“[Our] presidential election is turning into a competition to determine who hates and discriminates against women the most.” Inside South Korea’s Incel Election https://t.co/qxfQkGcWWY (Parts of it were painful to write. By @junhyupkwon and I)

Yes, incel election (spade is a spade)

Anti-feminists in South Korea: “Men have had to shoulder a lot of burden for generations. We do military service while women are free to go on with their lives. Where’s the justice in that?” (Wait: Is. This. Singapore…?)

The guy to watch: Yoon Suk-yeol. Highlighting another excellent context feature by Korea Herald’s @hyunsuinseoul https://t.co/mWiE9eVH1s (Elections always bring out the worst in people lol)

@junhyupkwon and I reached out to his supporters. One of them was only 15 and before you dismiss him as being unable to vote, consider how disturbing it is for someone his age to wanting gender ministries abolished: “That ministry has done nothing and wasted our national budget.”

New Man On Solidarity is one of Korea’s strongest and most active anti-feminist groups so naturally they have thrown support behind Yoon. I was actually uncomfortable about reaching out to them so I asked @junhyupkwon to do it, and gut instinct was right: They were unkind.

Thank you to @junhyupkwon, who’s been my greatest collaborator during my time reporting for Vice. We also worked together on the semen terrorism feature, another disturbing face to Korea’s gender war https://t.co/RqenQ513Hs

Choice quotes from female experts featured in our piece:

“It is obvious that the major subject of the presidential election should be feminism but it’s turning into a competition to determine who hates and discriminates against women the most” —psychologist Han Ji-young

“Candidates of the major parties do not represent young men. They are trashing the votes of women because misogyny is [widespread] in our deeply patriarchal society.”—feminist politician Kim Jin-ah, who found herself the target of witch hunts after running for Seoul mayor

Also: me asking a Korean guy why he wouldn’t vote for the female candidate Sim Sang-jung: “She’s a woman like Park Geun-hye” https://t.co/ZonCIwetTN

Some of the most powerful words came from the young women of @Teamhaeil. “The 2022 presidential election is our most misogynistic in history. Candidates are bringing anti-feminism to the forefront, even as backlash against our feminist movement intensified last year.” @BBCLBicker

My most important question to @Teamhaeil: But what if Yoon wins?

Haein Shim: “The anti-feminists would definitely welcome a Yoon victory… but it is by no means a defeat for feminism in South Korea. [The election] demonstrated how much feminism is feared by our politicians.”

Journalists: Please do consider reaching out to @Teamhaeil for all future coverage on Korea's gender wars. They are brilliant and bright young women, and I always love working with them