Men are taking their own lives in increasing numbers in South Korea, which has one of the highest suicide rates among the world's richest nations. One local politician thinks he's got the spike partly figured out—and he's blaming women. In a new report cited by the BBC, Seoul City Council member Kim Ki-duck pointed the finger at how women have been flocking to the workforce in recent years, making it more challenging for men to find jobs, as well as finding women who want to tie the knot. "Unlike the past when patriarchy and male-dominant ideology were prevalent in Korea ... it has begun to change into a female-dominated society," Kim, of the country's center-liberal Democratic Party, argued in his write-up, per the Independent.
Kim's report noted that suicide attempts along the city's Han River jumped from 430 in 2018 to more than 1,000 in 2023. Of those attempts, the percentage of men trying to kill themselves rose from 67% to 77%, respectively. He concluded his assessment by saying the country needs to tamp down on this "female-domination phenomenon" by talking up gender equality, so "men and women can enjoy equal opportunities," per the BBC. That outlet notes, however, that women in South Korea still disproportionately work part-time or temp jobs instead of full time, and they're still paid, on average, nearly 30% less than men.
Not only that, but men take their own lives more than women all over the world, not just in South Korea, Yonsei University mental health expert In Han Song tells the BBC. "It is dangerous and unwise to make claims like this without sufficient evidence," he says of Kim's report. Other Koreans took to social media to call the assessment "misogynistic" and "unsubstantiated." In response to the backlash, Kim says the report was "not intended to be critical of the female-dominated society" and that he was just offering his personal musings on the consequences. (If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.)
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