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The protagonist of the tvN series “Record of Youth” is inoculated for human papillomavirus. (still from “Record of Youth”)

Kim Nam-kwon, 24, was vaccinated on Oct. 20 against HPV.

“I saw a TV program and thought that I ought to get the HPV vaccine,” he said.

“On the program, they said the HPV vaccine was effective at preventing disease not just in women, but in men too,” he explained.

“I got it this year because they said you should get it before you turn 25,” he added.

More and more men like Kim have been showing an interest in vaccination against the human papillomavirus ever since a 2020 episode of the tvN series “Record of Youth” in which a character played by actor Park Bo-gum gets vaccinated.

But many men are still hesitant, with some perceiving it as a “vaccine for women” and others balking at the cost, which can run as high as 900,000 won (US$765) for a full vaccination course.

Transmitted through sexual contact, HPV can cause diseases including cervical cancer, penile cancer and genital warts.

The 2020 Infectious Disease Surveillance Yearbook published by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency listed 10,945 reported cases of HPV infection, with reported cases of genital warts rising from 281 in 2001 to 4,864 as of 2020.

The incidence of cervical cancer stood at 11.4 cases per 100,000 people as of 2017 — almost double the target of six cases designated by the World Health Organization for eradication of the condition.

“There is no treatment for HPV. A patient needs to undergo regular examinations for about two years and hope that it goes away on its own,” explained Jung Min-hyung, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Kyung Hee University.

“Getting vaccinated is the best approach regardless of gender,” he added.

Since the HPV vaccine is widely perceived as a measure to prevent cervical cancer, men tend not to view it as necessary.

“I had heard before that it was an injection against cervical cancer, but during a sex education lecture I recently learn that men should be getting it too,” said Lee Han, a member of the group Feminism with Him, which organized a long-term project advocating for HPV vaccinations in 2021.

“There are still a lot of men who think it’s unnecessary to get vaccinated,” he added.

The cost poses another barrier. Currently, only young women at least 12 years of age can receive the vaccine for free. Adult women and men have to pay out of pocket to get vaccinated.

“After I met my girlfriend, I started looking into vaccinations, but I ended up putting it off because it cost hundreds of thousands of won,” said 24-year-old Kim Han-beom.

According to uninsured treatment cost figures from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the cost of receiving the three-dose course of the Gardasil 9 HPV vaccine runs between 434,448 to 921,000 won.

Many continue to insist that the national preventive vaccination effort should be extended to include adults of all genders. As of March 2017, 71 countries were offering vaccines at the national level, with 11 of them — including the UK, Germany and Denmark — covering the cost of vaccination for boys.

“Even if we can’t cover [vaccinations] for everyone, we need to do so for the under-20 population, where the effects of inoculation are strong,” Jung urged.

By Ko Byung-chan, staff reporter

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