An image depicting a fierce debate. (123rf)
An image depicting a fierce debate. (123rf)

Some 25.9 percent of young Korean men appear to lean far-right politically, a recent study indicated, showing a potentially severe ideological divide by gender and generation.

Published in the Korean Journal of Sociology, the study used data from a Hankook Research survey commissioned by Sisa IN last year and the 2025 Korean General Social Survey to categorize 2,000 participants by their apparent political orientation. Scholars used their responses to welfare, economic and medical policies to divide respondents into three groups: youth (18-34), middle-aged (35-64) and older (65 and above).

Some 25.9 percent of male youth were thought to have far-right inclinations, according to the analysis. The figure was higher than any other age or gender group, and stood in stark contrast to the female youth group's 4.2 percent -- the lowest of any other group.

Young men were the clear leader in terms of those with right-leaning inclinations, at 50.1 percent. This was substantially higher than the next highest group, who were 65-and-above at 39.2 percent.

Only 22.9 percent of young women leaned right, the second-lowest figure next to 21.1 percent for middle-aged women.

Young men's right-leaning tendencies also clashed with those of middle-aged men, among whom only 27.4 percent were conservatives and 13.4 percent far-right. Nearly half (45.1 percent) of the middle-aged men leaned left, which was the highest among any age group.

Women generally had more moderates than men: moderates accounted for 43.1 percent in the youth category, 41.8 percent for middle-aged and 40.6 percent for those in the older category. No male group had a centrist percentage exceeding 31.8 percent, the share recorded for male youth.

Researchers noted that only 10 percent of young Korean men actually identified as far-right, despite their preferred policies indicating otherwise. Saying this indicates young men may view far-right political orientation as universal, not extreme, the researchers urged further study into this possibility.

The study said that the high percentage of young men categorized as far-right has been an ongoing trend since 2005. They pointed out that in the 2005 KGSS, the percentage of right-leaning young men was actually lower than right-leaning young women.

"This trajectory casts doubt on interpretations of youth conservatism and far-right disposition as a transient phenomenon and calls for a structural, long-term perspective," researchers wrote.

The study was conducted by sociology professor Kim Chang-hwan of the University of Kansas and Choi Seong-soo, an associate professor of sociology at Yonsei University.


minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com