4B, or Not 4B…
Most South Korean women haven’t even heard of the trend
If you have existed on the internet in the past five years, you have likely heard of the 4B — or, Four No’s — movement. Birthed by radical feminists in 2018, the 4B movement sees its staunch proponents avoiding all romantic interaction with men. And there has been speculation that this is causing the declining birth rates in South Korea.
But some South Korean content creators think this movement is not widely adopted enough to have such an impact — so, what’s the reason?
What is the 4B Movement?
4B is shorthand for four Korean words that all start with bi-, or “no”: The first no, bihon, is the refusal of heterosexual marriage. Bichulsan is the refusal of childbirth, biyeonae is saying no to dating, and bisekseu is the rejection of heterosexual sexual relationships.
The movement sounds reasonable, considering there is so much domestic violence in South Korea that traditionally women weren’t even expected to flee. The 2017 amendment of the Act on Domestic Violence calls for providing “victims of domestic violence the right to be respected for human dignity and security by swiftly escaping from the damaging situation.”
