Listed in the best books of 2023 by The Economist "Invigorating debut . . . [a]
full-throated rallying cry." —Publishers Weekly One of Ms. Magazine's "most-anticipated
feminist books of 2023" An eye-opening firsthand account of the ongoing and trailblazing
feminist movement in South Korea—one that the world should be watching. Since the beginning
of the #MeToo movement tens of thousands of people in South Korea have taken to the street
and many more brave individuals took a stand to end a decades-long abortion ban and bring down
powerful men accused of sexual misconduct—including a popular presidential contender. South
Korean feminists know that the revolution has been a long time coming between battles against
its own patriarchal society as well as challenging stereotypes of docile Asian women in the
Western imagination. Now author Hawon Jung will show the rest of the world that these women
are no delicate flowers—they are trailblazing flames. Flowers of Fire takes the reader into the
trenches of this fight for equality following along as South Korean activists march on the
streets navigate public and private spaces where spycam porn crimes are rampant and share
tips and tricks with each other as they learn how to protect themselves from harassment and how
to push authorities to act. Jung the former Seoul correspondent for the AFP draws on her
on-the-ground reporting and interviews with many women who became activists and leaders from
the elite prosecutor who ignited the country’s #MeToo movement to the young women who led the
war against non-consensual photography. Their stories though long overlooked in the West
mirror realities that women across the world are all too familiar with: threats of defamation
lawsuits to silence victims of assault tech-based sexual abuse and criminal justice systems
where victims’ voices are often met with suspicion and abusers’ downfalls are met with
sympathy. These are the issues at the heart of their #MeToo movement and South Korean women
have fought against them vigorously—and with extraordinary success. In Flowers of Fire Jung
illuminates the strength and tenacity of these women too often sidelined in global
conversations about feminism and gender equality.
