Before the 1980s-1990s, the divergence was actually in reverse, something which is visible here on the leftmost part of these graphs. Women were Rightward of men until a few decades ago in many Western countries.
By the 2000s, a convergence had been reached, and now we see a divergence in the current direction, viz., women moving Leftward faster than men.
South Korea is a particularly strange case, since men in their teens and 20s are Rightward of men in their 30s and 40s, albeit still Leftward of men who are aged 50+.
My suspicion is that the difference between the latter two groups is political-systemic. Men aged 50+ grew up in the Park and Chun military rule eras. Men in their 30s and 40s are only familiar with the post-democratization era (August 1987 onwards) and have nothing else to compare it to. But that is not the case for older South Koreans. The Park presidency remains popular in South Korea.
But the political-systemic explanation does not work for the former two groups, since both groups were brought up under the current political system. My suspicion there is that it is the birth rate crisis and the related realization that something is seriously wrong. If you're a young South Korean, there is a lot of uncertainty. You will probably die unmarried and/or childless. It does not seem implausible to me that this could be a potential cause of 'Right-Wing extremism' for men, whereas it bothers women less, for instance, because women are statistically less bothered by such things as the loneliness that is part and parcel of a sufficiently individualized society.
Yet, despite these statistics, South Korea actually has less of a political Far- to Extreme-Right than Japan. Japan has Japan First at its Rightmost, with Sanseito and the Conservative Party adjacent to them. South Korea only has a bunch of disorganized people who, far from being political outsiders, are usually supportive of the Park family.
Another oddity involved here is that the South Korean culture strikes me as noticeably more Right-Wing than Japan's. In short, Japan is politically more Right-Wing (e.g. has a more organized Far- to Extreme-Right, although the Japanese Centre-Right is Leftward of the South Korean Centre-Right), South Korea is culturally more Right-Wing (e.g. sees more value in history and spiritualism, whereas Japan is more modernistic and materialistic). South Korea is also more feminist and anti-feminist than Japan, with feminism being more of a polarizing wedge issue.
Remember, for instance, that it was the South Korean Centre-Right that gave South Korea its only female President, the disastrous Park Geun-hye, whose only reason for being popular was being the daughter of former military ruler Park Chung-hee. Japan, by contrast, has yet to have had a female Prime Minister, although women have came very close on numerous occasions (e.g. Renho from the Centre-Left and the Thatcher-inspired Sanae Takaichi from the Centre-Right).
These graphs are such a damning indictment of the US, Germany and the UK: they make South Korea's pitiful state look good. Furthermore, due to the Leftward cultural shift, many views which would lead people to self-identify as 'Lib' in past decades would now be leading people to self-identify as 'Con', making these graphs misleading. For instance, feminism is probably more 'con' than 'lib' in the 2020s, since 'lib' has moved on to supporting a transsexualism that is blatantly antithetical to many feminist beliefs, e.g. women-only spaces. 'Lib' is now for 'people who identify as women'-only spaces. Well, they wanted equality, only to receive much more than what they bargained for, and so I think the likes of 'Alana' McLaughlin beating up actual women in their own sports to be quite amusing and well-deserved.
Before the 1980s-1990s, the divergence was actually in reverse, something which is visible here on the leftmost part of these graphs. Women were Rightward of men until a few decades ago in many Western countries.
By the 2000s, a convergence had been reached, and now we see a divergence in the current direction, viz., women moving Leftward faster than men.
South Korea is a particularly strange case, since men in their teens and 20s are Rightward of men in their 30s and 40s, albeit still Leftward of men who are aged 50+.
My suspicion is that the difference between the latter two groups is political-systemic. Men aged 50+ grew up in the Park and Chun military rule eras. Men in their 30s and 40s are only familiar with the post-democratization era (August 1987 onwards) and have nothing else to compare it to. But that is not the case for older South Koreans. The Park presidency remains popular in South Korea.
But the political-systemic explanation does not work for the former two groups, since both groups were brought up under the current political system. My suspicion there is that it is the birth rate crisis and the related realization that something is seriously wrong. If you're a young South Korean, there is a lot of uncertainty. You will probably die unmarried and/or childless. It does not seem implausible to me that this could be a potential cause of 'Right-Wing extremism' for men, whereas it bothers women less, for instance, because women are statistically less bothered by such things as the loneliness that is part and parcel of a sufficiently individualized society.
Yet, despite these statistics, South Korea actually has less of a political Far- to Extreme-Right than Japan. Japan has Japan First at its Rightmost, with Sanseito and the Conservative Party adjacent to them. South Korea only has a bunch of disorganized people who, far from being political outsiders, are usually supportive of the Park family.
Another oddity involved here is that the South Korean culture strikes me as noticeably more Right-Wing than Japan's. In short, Japan is politically more Right-Wing (e.g. has a more organized Far- to Extreme-Right, although the Japanese Centre-Right is Leftward of the South Korean Centre-Right), South Korea is culturally more Right-Wing (e.g. sees more value in history and spiritualism, whereas Japan is more modernistic and materialistic). South Korea is also more feminist and anti-feminist than Japan, with feminism being more of a polarizing wedge issue.
Remember, for instance, that it was the South Korean Centre-Right that gave South Korea its only female President, the disastrous Park Geun-hye, whose only reason for being popular was being the daughter of former military ruler Park Chung-hee. Japan, by contrast, has yet to have had a female Prime Minister, although women have came very close on numerous occasions (e.g. Renho from the Centre-Left and the Thatcher-inspired Sanae Takaichi from the Centre-Right).
These graphs are such a damning indictment of the US, Germany and the UK: they make South Korea's pitiful state look good. Furthermore, due to the Leftward cultural shift, many views which would lead people to self-identify as 'Lib' in past decades would now be leading people to self-identify as 'Con', making these graphs misleading. For instance, feminism is probably more 'con' than 'lib' in the 2020s, since 'lib' has moved on to supporting a transsexualism that is blatantly antithetical to many feminist beliefs, e.g. women-only spaces. 'Lib' is now for 'people who identify as women'-only spaces. Well, they wanted equality, only to receive much more than what they bargained for, and so I think the likes of 'Alana' McLaughlin beating up actual women in their own sports to be quite amusing and well-deserved.