[Baking Typewriter] Unhappiness Cannot Justify Hatred

Unhappiness cannot and should not serve as a justification for hatred, yet in reality, this is often not the case. The main perpetrators of the attack on the Seoul Western District Court in January were men in their twenties. The same demographic stood out at rallies opposing the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol.

The author, a psychiatrist, has met many young people in the clinic. "The Psychological Birth of the Far-Right Youth" is a record of the anger, distrust, resentment, sense of deprivation, loneliness, and grudge that reside in their hearts. The book traces how these feelings evolve into far-right tendencies.

According to the author, a common thread among far-right youth is a deep sense of frustration and betrayal. Each of them has lived with anxiety and, after experiencing failure, has felt themselves fall into despair. More importantly, at those critical moments, there was no one to reach out a helping hand. "The trust that far-right adolescents and young adults once had in existing society has been severely broken... They now believe they neither need nor expect help. Instead, they develop a sense of resentment and a desire for revenge against the society that has made their lives difficult."

Understanding an individual's pain is entirely different from condoning the transformation of that pain into hatred toward others. The urgent task at hand is to understand the anxieties of young people?truly, with the heart rather than just the mind.

Anxiety has many sources. First, the traditional factors that once guaranteed men's social status are now being shaken. As women achieve higher educational levels and participate more in the workforce, men increasingly feel pushed aside. They believe that benefits (or rights) that were once theirs are being taken away. When one looks beyond the abstract and traces the roots of this anxiety, the issues that young men tangibly experience are "a lack of jobs" and "cutthroat competition." In this era of low growth, quality jobs are becoming scarcer, and young people must compete fiercely just to survive.

Youth are particularly sensitive to the value of "fairness" and believe in meritocracy. They think that success is possible through hard work, and that every achievement is a just reward for their efforts. However, the gaps between large corporations and small businesses, regular and irregular workers, and the capital region versus other areas are structural problems that cannot be overcome by individual effort alone. In a system where only a few can come out on top, most are destined to be losers. In effect, they are caught in the very net of meritocracy that they themselves have woven.

The author emphasizes the need to provide hope that can overcome resentment and anger. In the short term, this means helping young people resolve psychological difficulties; in the mid to long term, it requires improving the education system and providing broader societal support. Ultimately, this is a political issue. The far-right shift among youth is a systemic failure caused by the absence of effective politics. It is the result of failing to address the real concerns of young people and instead focusing on divisive strategies that fuel conflict and hatred. Policies such as the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family or the separation of old and new pension schemes are typical examples. While the expression of anxiety and anger is understandable, allowing these emotions to be redirected toward women, the elderly, immigrants, or minorities is a failure of politics. Society must provide quality jobs, ease excessive competition, and strengthen the social safety net. Young people need to believe that society does not turn a blind eye to their sweat and tears.

The Psychological Birth of the Far-Right Youth | Written by Kim Hyunsoo | Cloud Nine | 220 pages | 20,000 won