Charlie Kirk’s death stems a rising Korean conservative tide

Charlie Kirk was best known in America as the founder of Turning Point USA, the largest conservative youth activist network. He built it into a nationwide force with clubs, conferences, and training programs – creating communities that gave conservative students a sense of belonging and identity.

Late last week, he made his first visit to Seoul. It would also be his last.

South Korea has long been shaped by student activism. From protests against authoritarian regimes in the 1980s to candlelight vigils in the 2010s, universities have been seedbeds of political energy.

There was an imbalance, however. In recent decades, progressive voices dominated campus politics. Conservative students often found themselves without infrastructure, funding or supportive networks.

This imbalance created space for Build Up Korea. Founded in 2023 by Mina Kim, the group set out to give conservative youth a platform of their own. Hosting Kirk at a conference last weekend, Kim told the visiting guru, “I basically copied the whole event that you host in America.”

Judging from the way Turning Point USA branched out to the UK in 2018, Kirk’s presence in South Korea and his next stop, Japan, suggested the organization was now positioning itself well to expand into Asia.

Build Up Korea’s mission was simple: connect young conservatives, counter the progressive dominance on campus and forge links with like-minded movements abroad. And it worked. In 2024, Build Up Korea’s main stage belonged to Donald Trump Jr.

When the organizers followed up by bringing Charlie Kirk to Seoul the other day, it was not just another guest lecture. His appearance signaled something larger – that Korean conservatives were no longer operating in isolation but were part of a broader international tide, one that gave them legitimacy, momentum and a sense of political protection.

Gender and demographic anxieties

No domestic issue cuts as sharply across generations in South Korea as gender politics. Young men, facing mandatory military service and tough job markets, have grown resentful of feminist narratives they see as dismissive of their burdens.

Online communities brim with grievances about double standards, while young women push back against what they perceive as entrenched patriarchy.

Into this tense environment, Kirk’s message landed with force. “Get married, have more children, return to the Bible” – words he had spoken often in America – resonated in a country that has the world’s lowest fertility rate.

For conservative youth, it sounded like a call to restore stability to family life, countering the feminist cultural mainstream. His rhetoric echoed what Korean churches and conservative politicians had been saying for years, but he delivered it with the charisma of an international organizer.

North Korea and security

Another dimension separates Korean conservatives from their American counterparts: the shadow of North Korea. For young conservatives, politics is not only about identity and culture – it is about survival.

Progressive governments in Seoul have often pursued dialogue with Pyongyang, stressing reconciliation. Conservatives, by contrast, emphasize deterrence and the US alliance.

Kirk, as a close ally of Donald Trump and an advocate of American strength, offered reassurance. His appearance in Seoul suggested that the US conservative movement saw South Korea as a frontline partner.

When Korean students chanted “U-S-A! U-S-A!” at the Build Up Korea conference, they were not simply mimicking American rallies. They were signaling that their security concerns and their values were tied to the same alliance – one that Kirk embodied.

The church connection

Religion also matters. South Korea’s evangelical churches have long been political actors, mobilizing congregations on everything from anti-communism to protests against progressive presidents. Build Up Korea drew on that base of energy.

Kirk’s Bible-centered speeches – urging youth to put faith at the center of life – fit naturally into this landscape. To many in the audience, he was not a foreign import but a mirror of their own pastors, now amplified on an international stage.

The void left behind

Only days after returning from Seoul, Charlie Kirk was assassinated in Utah. His death shocked conservatives across the Pacific.

For Korean youth who had just met him, the loss was devastating. Here was a figure who had validated their struggle – who showed that the marginalization they felt on campus was not unique but part of a broader pattern faced by conservatives worldwide.

His presence suggested that their voices mattered beyond Korea’s borders.

Without Kirk’s personal energy and organizational reach, the connection to a global conservative network feels weaker.

Loss beyond America

Their ssense of tragedy is not only human but ideological. Kirk’s brief visit to Seoul demonstrated that ideas of tradition, family and patriotism could resonate with Korean youth. His absence leaves the movement less certain of its direction abroad.

The conservative tide he helped stir in Korea has not disappeared. But its momentum will slow down. For young conservatives who saw in him a mentor and partner, the loss is profound.

Build Up Korea will carry on, yet the link he had begun to forge between American and Korean conservatism now stands incomplete. Whether anyone can take up his mantle remains unclear.

What is clear is that, just as the conservative youth movement was beginning to cross the Pacific, it lost the organizer most capable of carrying it forward.

Hanjin Lew is a political commentator specializing in East Asian affairs.