Changes in the Status of Women in South Korea

The status of women in Korea is undergoing fundamental change

BY ANITA LI

During our University of Toronto-sponsored academic trip to Seoul, South Korea, my Asia-Pacific Studies seminar class (ASI400Y1) had the privilege of attending lectures at top universities throughout the city. In this report, I will first summarize and subsequently analyze one such lecture entitled “Korean Women as Workers” by Imlyang Ryu, Research Associate for Seoul National University’s Institute for Gender Research. I will then analyze, within a comparative context, the changing status and gender roles of women in contemporary East Asia by looking at my first-hand experiences and academic literature relating to this issue in South Korea and China, respectively. To conclude, I will attempt to determine how these changes will affect the country’s future.

In her lecture, Ryu presented the current situation of Korean female workers, the recent changes of the status of female workers, and the obstacles that such workers encounter on both personal and professional levels. According to Ryu, the employment rate for women has risen steadily from 42.8% in 1980 to 50% in 2008. Furthermore, these women are increasingly engaging in leadership roles in the workforce. For instance, the number of female lawmakers has been increasing with 75.9% of females elected as lawmakers at the national level in 2008 (versus 4.8% in 1992). Ryu asserts that such women can be characterized as either an ‘Alpha Girl’ or ‘Gold Miss,’ with the former “a young woman who is destined to be a leader…talented, highly motivated, [and] self-confident,” and the latter a single woman in her 30s who possesses financial power.

However, gender equity—the process of being fair to both women and men—and gender equality—both sexes’ enjoyment of equal status in society—still has a long way to go in South Korea. For instance, in terms of monthly wages, women earn only 70.5% of the salary that men earn even when possessing a 4-year college degree. Indeed, despite some progression, societal views of female gender roles largely remain traditional. In response to the survey question, “What do you think about women in the workforce?” the majority of respondents preferred women to focus on marriage and childrearing. Moreover, in response to another survey question, “Who do you think should be in charge of housework?” an overwhelming number of both male and female respondents—63.3% and 55.8%, respectively—believed that the wife should primarily be responsible for household chores, with the husband only needing to “help.”

Such patriarchal views create further obstacles for women. When one assesses employment by gender and age, for example, it is interesting to note that 1985 saw a drop in the employment rate for women in the 25 to 29 age group, whereas 2008 saw a drop for women in the 30 to 34 age group; this demonstrates that modern Korean women are increasingly postponing marriage and birth to later in their lives. However, when these women return to the workforce three to five years later, there are no more jobs available for them; as a result, many become ‘irregular workers,’ in that they take undesirable or part-time jobs (e.g. waiting tables). Indeed, in 2008, the majority of irregular workers—64.5%—were female. Many such workers find it difficult to make a decent living, and therefore become impoverished, leading to increased socio-economic polarization amongst Korean women. Even those who manage to attain gainful employment have to contend with issues such as lack of social welfare catered to females (e.g. paid pregnancy leave), or hate crimes against women, and resistance against a perceived emergence of feminism.

Although Ryu provides some information about the status of female workers in South Korea, I feel that her lecture should be clarified and elaborated. Furthermore, one should establish what these conclusions could mean for the country’s social, political, and economic future.
‘Women,’ as a social category, should first be complicated and contextualized in order for it to be able to provide any insightful conclusions about the plight of females in South Korea. For example, factors such as education, age, and geographic location are important variables to consider, as they intersect with gender in determining the highly disparate experiences of women in modern Korean society.

In contrast to the entrepreneurial Alpha Girl or Gold Miss, it appears that another group of women has achieved upward mobility by drawing on human capital, specifically their beauty and youth. In China, such women are dubbed ‘Young Misses.’ In order to adequately represent the glowing image of ‘modernity,’ commercial, service, and entertainment industries hire these attractive and stylish women, and display them in venues ranging from restaurants to nightclubs. Despite possessing no formal education or skills, Young Misses are earning high wages by entering these largely private sector industries. Combining consumerism and sexism, these ventures objectify and commodify women; but rather than being passively-manufactured objects of desire, Young Misses are actually taking an active role in their own exploitation to maximize profits and advance career opportunities. While in Seoul, I witnessed these women selling merchandise in places such as ‘YES a/pM,’ an indoor shopping mall and market. They are also featured in a significant number of advertisements—wearing miniskirts and bikinis—in the Seoul Metropolitan Subway. Both of these examples attest to the many Young Misses who are willing to participate in the sexism that currently pervades Korean society. Ryu’s portrayal of Korean women as passive victims of sexual discrimination neglects to consider this other reality.

Similar to Young Misses, college-educated women are also using their femininity to earn a living. However, these young professionals, called ‘Miss Office’ or ‘White Collar Beauty’ in China, and ‘Alpha Girl’ in South Korea, opt to find clerical—considered “feminine”—positions in foreign and joint venture companies. As aforementioned, they are the elite group of women of whom Ryu described as eventually taking on higher authority positions such as managerial or “unfeminine” jobs. Such young urban professionals were particularly evident at our residence, Ewha Womans University, a top-ranked all-female educational institute that boasts illustrious alumni. For example, one of the students providing our class with a campus tour expressed her intent to become a diplomat, and was therefore studying foreign languages in order to achieve that goal. These types of women who achieve post-secondary education go on to earn a high income, and also engage in high consumption. However, as Ryu stated, they also encounter explicit gender discrimination, as many enter the workforce to find that male classmates with inferior academic records are recruited for jobs that are denied to them.

On the other hand, it is also important to consider Ryu’s assertion that in spite of the aforementioned progression, there is greater socio-economic polarization amongst Korean females. That is, in addition to women like those studying at Ewha, there are also those who struggle to find gainful employment. For example, women who are out of the workforce for several years due to childbirth and childrearing find it difficult to seek re-employment or steady employment, as their absence largely leads to sharp downward mobility in both income and status. This therefore results in many women over the age of 30 to 34 years to become what Ryu termed ‘irregular workers.’ Ryu’s conclusion corresponds with what I witnessed during my time in Seoul—middle-aged or older Korean women employed in undesirable jobs such as street vending, while younger Korean women are employed as Young Misses or White Collar Beauties. One policy recommendation I would like to make is for the South Korean government to provide training, and to upgrade the social status of domestic and service workers in South Korea, as official women’s organizations are doing in China. This way, there will be a market for older women to continue being employed as ‘regular workers’ in well-paid jobs with respectable statuses.

It is shortsighted to analyze ‘women,’ as a social category, on its own; rather, it is necessary to look at other factors such as age and education that intersect with this category in order to obtain a full and accurate picture of the diverse lives of modern Korean women. Our class trip enabled me to draw from both academic lectures and my first-hand experiences in Seoul, and ultimately come to the aforementioned conclusions about the changing status and gender roles of women in contemporary South Korea.