Participants shout for joy at a rally demanding President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, Saturday, after the National Assembly passed a motion to impeach Yoon. Korea Times photo by Jung Da-bin

While young Korean women have received local and global attention over the last two weeks for their overwhelming presence at the recent protests to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol and their contributions to turning political demonstrations more festive and colorful, data showed that men of the same age group have been least active amid the political turmoil.

About a third of participants in the massive rally calling for Yoon's impeachment in front of the National Assembly on Dec. 7 were women in their 20s and 30s, according to the analysis of the city's latest living population data.

On the other hand, men in the same age group accounted for only about 8 percent of the estimated 1 million crowd, accounting for the lowest participation rate among all age groups.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government, in collaboration with mobile operator KT, reveals the number of people in each region hourly every day. The figure for the protest on Dec. 14 was estimated to reach some 2 million people.

Then it was men in their 50s who made up the next-largest portion. During the rally, several middle-aged participants were seen asking each other, "Where are the young men?" surprised by the overwhelming presence of young women.

A participant holds a K-pop light stick during a rally near the National Assembly in Seoul, Saturday. Korea Times photo by Jung Da-bin

This phenomenon is quite different from the candlelit protests during the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye in 2016 and 2017.

At the time, male participants accounted for 64 percent while female participants took 36 percent. Also, women in their 20s and 30s made up only 9.6 percent, relatively below the 12.5 percent male participants in the same age group.

The age group that dominated the rallies in the Gwanghwamun area had been men in their 40s, who are now mostly in their 50s, accounting for 16.9 percent.

This time, young women in their 20s and 30s came out waving light sticks for K-pop artists instead of candles and led a new protest culture with bright colors and dynamic K-pop songs.

Experts believe that the striking participation of young women is the result of the Yoon administration's anti-feminist politics and the nation's online feminism movement.

Yoon had advocated abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family as a presidential candidate and repeatedly claimed there was "no structural gender discrimination" in this country. Then he drastically cut the budget for violence against women and deleted "women" and "gender equality" from policy terms, stirring anti-feminist sentiment across the nation.

Several women participants confirmed such motivations at the scene.

Shin, 27, said in Yeouido, Saturday, "I have been outraged by the anti-feminist politics of the Yoon administration for years. From dating murder to deep-fake sex crimes, I constantly felt that women cannot stay safe in Korea. Then I felt I couldn't stand it anymore when he declared martial law."

Participants shout for joy at a rally demanding President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, Saturday, after the motion to impeach the leader was passed. Korea Times photo by Jung Da-bin

Kim, 22, also said, "It seems that the anger that has been accumulated due to feminism-related issues such as deepfake sex crimes and Dongduk Women's University issues is bursting out at the impeachment rallies."

Then, why have young men been relatively passive in these protests? Experts believe it is a complex issue that combines their lack of experience in building solidarity and adherence to conservatism.

"Women have learned over the past decade to fight against gender violence that women are collectively subjected to, such as deepfake sex crimes and the #MeToo movement," said Kim Hyun-mee, a professor of cultural anthropology at Yonsei University.

"Of course, many young men also believe that Yoon's declaration of martial law is ridiculous … But not only are they unfamiliar with revealing themselves and speaking up in social or public places, they also lack any network of males to share it with."

Lee Hyun-jae, a professor of urban humanities at the University of Seoul, mirrored Kim's view, explaining that Korean women in their 20s and 30s have developed and grown familiar with an organizational culture through recent social issues, and their women-centered online communities have become the basis for gathering large groups at rallies in a short time.

On the other hand, online communities where young men are mainly active tend to be more conservative and less sensitive to social issues concerning the socially vulnerable, she said.

Experts also highlighted how young men are turning conservative while women's education standards are rising.

"With the emergence of meritocracy, the status and privileges that men had monopolized were no longer useful to men," the University of Seoul professor said, citing how women now score higher in basic education and in careers.

"While they feel that traditional masculinity could no longer be a privilege, they find it more advantageous to incorporate into the existing patriarchal system of order," she said, explaining how young Korean men are turning conservative.

Lee Byung-hoon, an honorary professor of sociology at Chung-Ang University, echoed the professor's view on young men's conservatism.

"Although Koreans in general, regardless of sex and age, disagree with Yoon's martial law, young men are relatively more conservative and tend to be more lukewarm toward such rallies and social movements," he said.

A group of male middle school students stand at a rally demanding President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, Saturday. Korea Times photo by Ryu Gi-chan

Meanwhile, young men who decided to join the scene said the experience has been life-changing.

Kim, a 17-year-old student from Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, joined last Saturday's protest with his friend. "This was my first rally, but it won't be the last," he said.

Jang, 27, said he found the speeches he heard during the rally enlightening.

"Women, people with disabilities and the LGBTQ communities took the podium today (Saturday) and told stories I have been unaware of and I learned a lot. The participation rate of young men was low this time, but I hope that fellow citizens of my age will also come to the square and contribute to building a discourse where people share opinions and learn to leave no one behind in our society," he said.

"As time goes by, I believe young men will naturally learn to participate in politics, too," said Lee Joo-hee, a sociology professor at Ewha Womans University. "Let's not judge them too harshly by dividing them."