Securing Manhood, Securitising Women: Fragile Masculinity in the Context of South Korea
Abstract
This article examines the securitisation of women in South Korea through the lens of fragile masculinity, thus intervening in ongoing debates on the gendered production of both security and insecurity. It explores how anxieties rooted in economic precarity and military insecurity shape the framing of women as security threats, in both political discourse and policy practice. Methodologically, this study adopts an interpretive process tracing framework, to examine how fragile masculinity is expressed and embedded within South Korea’s political and institutional dynamics. The analysis is informed by the factor of ontological security, particularly concepts of anxiety and insecurity. The findings demonstrate that anxieties nourished by economic and military insecurities do not remain limited to everyday social or gender practices, but are institutionalised through state policies and political arenas that contribute to the systematic securitisation of women. This research contributes to the fields of gender and security studies, and offers insights into the layered and relational dynamics through which gender security is produced and governed, by defining and analysing the relationship between fragile masculinity and gendered securitisation.
Keywords
Fragile Masculinity, Ontological Security, Securitisation, Gender Security, South Korea
Ethical Statement
The authors declare that, in the preparation of this study, the generative artificial intelligence tool [Grammarly, ChatGPT 5.5] was used for the following purposes: (i) reviewing English academic style and ensuring linguistic fluency, and (ii) paragraph-level language editing. The original contribution, theoretical framework, empirical analysis, and conclusions of the study belong entirely to the authors, and all text generated by the artificial intelligence tool has been reviewed by the authors for academic content and accuracy. Some discussions of this article draw from Yeliz Yıldız’s Master dissertation, defended at Social Sciences University of Ankara in 2026.
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