Session 4 (July 20) - South Korea Today

[Meghann Seril]

Hi Jane! Yes, this article was a difficult read as the numbers were pretty shocking. I am wondering if the intense work schedules and the pressures around school prevent working age adults from taking care of their parents in addition to supporting themselves and possibly taking care of children. It would be interesting to know how many households are multi-generational. I know in the Philippines and in Taiwan it is also common for people to spend the whole day at the mall or library to take advantage of the air-conditioning as brown outs are common when the electrical grids are stressed.

[Meghann Seril]

Hi Alyssa! Something your response made me think of was the way in which gender roles are portrayed in anime. I am not as familiar with Korean cartoons but from my limited experience with Japanese anime I find that women are portrayed in one way only, hypersexualized. In contrast, there are a variety of portrayals of men including the "flower boy" image or the more buff, weightlifter type, and there is more variety among the different age groups in the men. I'm thinking that this is another medium through which the more traditional ideals of beauty are reinforced.

[Jasmine Weeks]

What are society and culture like in South Korea today?

McCurry was right when he said that K-Pop is metonymy to South Korea due to its fame and influence around the world. K-Pop, being the third highest industry in South Korea and bringing in over $3.5 billion or revenue annually ( 4) has majorly challenged cultural norms and caused societal reform within the last two decades. For one, K-Pop reshapes some of the images of masculinity in Korean Culture, with K-Pop male stars being cute and gentle as opposed to the traditional physically stout and stern-looking images. Female K-Pop stars on the other hand often portray beauty with slender figures with heavy makeup that not only greatly benefits the cosmetic industry, but also creates a standard of female beauty in the society so much so that the term ‘making it’ is equivalent to a makeover (Kuhn, 7). In fact, it puts so much pressure on females to conform to that image and the obsession of it seems to have been backfired with a new generation rejecting that notion with the slogan “Escape the Corset” and the short-hair, loose clothing image with no makeup image to redefine the standard of female beauty, “seeking approval to love and be loved as who they are” (Kuhn,2).

 

In 2009, the suicide commmited by famous actress Jang Ja-Yeon at age 26, because she was forced into sexual relationship with influential men within the country, began to unreel the sexual abuse within K-Pop culture (McCurry, 2). Other scandals involving top K-Pop stars being the ring leaders in the prostitution business or selling unsolicited sexual images by using spy cameras at hotels. The corruption clean-up is slow due to the involvement of high officials and police force in the scandals. Also according to Kasulis, “the South Korea's court system is notorious for the lenient sentences given to convicted sex offenders”. Most of the offenders are men.  It’s very rare to see someone get a maximum sentence; they usually get off with a “suspended sentence or a fine”. Recognizing the importance of K-Pop image on the international market and the lucrative income it brings, President Moon Jae-in vowed to clean-up the misconduct. It was also suggested that young K-Pop stars need education in stress management and equipment to deal with the social environment outside the studio (McCurry, 5) 

 

Perhaps the exposure of these female harassments gives rise to the feminist movement to fight against sexual abuse in school and at work place. In the traditional, male dominant Korean society where teachers are highly respected, it is difficult to  challenge male teachers who are influential in determining who gets into college after high school (Kim, 5).  The #MeTooMovement initiated by victimized students started to speak up against male coaches and classroom teachers through marches and reporting to the UN. Another discrimination against women is at the work place where female applicants were considered for a position based on their appearances and required to “supply photos and information about their height and weight” during the applications (Kuhn,10).

 

Another phenomenon in the current South Korean society is that they are facing an aging and declining population due to low birth rate, approximately 1 % since the 1960s.  As a result, there is an influx of foreign workers and mixed marriages between Korean men and foreign brides, contributing to the increased multiculturalism in the Korean society (Palmer & Park). In schools especially, teachers are trained to address the bullying of mixed race children.  Society is beginning to embrace multiculturalism by posting pictures of mixed-race families and even elected Jasmine Lee, its country’s first foreign-born lawmaker in 2012. On the other hand, Gibson reported the insufficient planning and fund have let 44% of elderly who live alone in poverty. 

 

It was suggested that integrating more females in the workforce would not only make up the declining populations, but also resolve inequality issues at the workplace. To achieve this, South Korea has to fix the large pay gap between male and female workers, increase child care, allow longer paternity leave, and reduce the weekly work hours (Stangarone).

 

[Kimberly de Berzunza]

What are society and culture like in South Korea today?

Well, yes, this is broad...

It's difficult and dangerous to pass judgement on another society from my outsider's point of view. It would be easy to categorize modern South Korea as patriarchal, sexist, overly-concerned with physical appearance and conspicous consumption, with weakening social norms and constructs as evidenced by the Big Bang and Nth Room scandals or the 43% poverty rate among the elderly.

On the other hand, are we really so different? We have horrible sexual predatation, exploitation, and human trafficking scandals all the time. Our elderly are frequently abandoned in nursing homes that can't care for them properly. Our society continues to discriminate against people based on gender, age, weight, overall appearance, race, sexual orientation... the pay gap may not be as large in the US as in South Korea, but there are many factors.

Looking at the cosmetic surgery topic, it seems very extreme in SK, and whether it is to achieve a perceived Korean or Western standard, the real issue as I see it is the desperate need to conform to an ideal. On the one hand, choosing cosmetic surgery could be empowering, but on the other it is still conformist and could be seen as oppressive. It is far more common in SK than in the US- a quick Google search turned up data that the US is 6th in the world in per-capita cosmetic surgeries. https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0712/plastic-surgery-worldwide-which-countries-nip-and-tuck-the-most.aspx  Even this strikes me as high- the only people I know personally who have had cosmetic surgery are Latin Americans.  I did read that it is on the rise in the US, and I wonder how much has to do with social media.

I am interested in the influence of K-pop around the world in connection to the #MeToo and other political movements, and the darker side of the hyper-sexualized girl groups and the horrific scandals that exploded this past year connected to some of the boy bands. I found particularly interesting the article that discussed how this could affect the national GDP- that's huge. Imagine if the Jonas Brothers were implicated in something similar to Big Bang, and this were to affect the US' GDP! I hope that the K-pop groups can mobilize in a positive way to combat sexual predation and gender-based discrimination and stereotyping. It looks like they have the global reach and power to do something big, if they choose.

I also find the "Escape the corset" movement really interesting and I wonder to what degree this pushback on gender-normative attitudes will create real change in South Korean society. Could it open the door to more tolerance and open-mindedness? Or will it spark a backlash from the majority? And how much is any of this connected to the economy? Will COVID-19 change the picture again?

[Jane Hannon]

That's interesting about the proxies. Nice to be in class with you again, Laura!

[Laura Huffman]

Same, Jane! I remember how kind you were to me in Orlando! Hope you're doing well. 🙂

[Tom Mueller]

You are welcome.  I did some research on Japan and found this article https://www.npr.org/2018/12/21/679103541/japans-population-is-in-rapid-decline

It seems they are increasing the number of foreign workers and using robots to help their labor issue.  

[Tom Mueller]

Alyssa - great post.  I was really interested in your discussion "Blackpink have not had the same success in challenging gender roles and stereotypes - rather they have been strengthened. "

This seems to be a problem in our soceity as a whole.  I grew up in the 80 Hair band days and many of the male bands did highlight a bad boy  and highly sexist image.  However it was interesting that strong women bands "had to" align to the female sterotypes.  I am thinking of the band Heart.  A band with a lead female singer (Ann Wilson) and lead female guitarist (Nancy Wilson).  I remember an article in which Ann stated that in the 80s, producers were more about "sexualizing" them than in the 70s.  If you watch the videos you can definitely see it.  Ann also stated as she started to gain weight then the videos started to focus more on her sister, Nancy.  This would be an interesting study of global music and examine these gender roles. 

[Jasmine Weeks]

Continuing on the topic of focusing on the ourward apprearances through costomology and plastic surgery, I tend to think that in the U.s.,it is more common among the wealthy and the celebrities.  Whereas in the Asian countries, although it is still an afluent expense, spending on 'beautification" is somewhat commonand has a higher priority in the budget because of the importance of the public image and presentability of a wife to her husband.  Although coming form a middle class, family, my mother and aunts had regular facial appintment to try to get a unblemish look.  One doctor I spoke with in Malaysia quit his job as a medical doctor and switched to business in skin laser clinic because it's more lucrative that way.  Although it is not South Korea company asking for photos and data and weight and height, I remember a friend who tried to apply to become air stewardess with Singapore Airline, although she is somewhat pretty, there is this test that she has to dress up in swimsuit to walk in front of some judges. Apparently she did not pass and did not get the job.  

[Maria Cardenas]

What are society and culture like in South Korea today?

                  Society and culture has changed from how it was in the past. In the article by Palmer and Park, South Koreans Learn to Love the Other—Foreign Policy 2018, states “most South Koreans have gone from holding a narrow, racial concept of nationality to embracing the idea that immigrants of Chinese, Nigerian, Vietnamese, or North American descent can be as Korean as anyone else.” South Koreans are a bit more accepting of differences and ethnicity instead of the concept of “purity of Korean bloodlines.” But only because they have become a bit more accepting it doesn’t mean children bully mixed-race classmates. They are a bit more accepting of multiracial families. The article also stated, “The data also showed that many Koreans associated foreigners with crime, job losses, or a greater tax burden.” This reminds me of what some Americans think of when they talk about illegal immigrants.

                  Women are fighting against the abuse they have received, the beauty standards, and gender gap in South Korea’s patriarchy. Just like in other parts of the world Korean women have protested with the #METOO movement. A few years ago women could be ignored or retaliated for accusing men, now things are taken more serious. Teachers, politicians, and K-Pop stars are being punished for the actions they have taken. The world is looking at South Korea because of the Korean Wave and how wide people like groups like BTS. Women are rejecting Korean’s standard beauty expectations with the “Escape the Corset” movement. This include being skinny, having long hair, wearing lots of make-up, etc. They are fighting against the inequality having Patriarchy society consists of. Troy Stangarone’s article about Gender Inequality Makes South Korea Poorer, states, “In South Korea, women regularly face questions about their marriage status and plans for having children when applying for a job, or suggestions that jobs in fields such as sales aren’t appropriate for women.” This wouldn’t be acceptable in other countries and even though the article states that its illegal to asks those type of questions but firms only face a minimal fines for discrimination against women. The consequence for discriminating against a women isn’t big so I am assuming owners don’t mind doing it. The questions asked isn’t the only thing women have to face in South Korea but also the pay gap. Living in a patriarchal country that still believes men can do whatever they want women face pressure to leave the workforce when they start having kids.

                  The Korean culture and society was brought to other countries because of K-pop and K-dramas. Women are being exploited because people in power like artists are the ones committing these crimes. For example, Seungri from Big Bang was accused of a prostitution ring occurring with his nightclubs. Last I heard he wasn’t convicted for any of his crimes. Seungri isn’t the only artist that is being accused of crimes against women. This has shown a darker side of the Korean industry. The Nth Room is another issue against women and children; were people had to pay to watch women and children perform sexual explicit acts on camera. “South Korea's court system is notorious for the lenient sentences given to convicted sex offenders” (Kelly Kasulis). The Nth Room case has prompted laws to be passed to make digital sex crimes easier to persecute.

                  Another aspect of Korean society and culture is the problem with the elderly. In the article of Jenna Gibson it states, “the proportion of elderly Koreans who live in poverty was 43.8 percent as of 2017.” The percentage of elderly who are poor is almost 50%, which is pretty high. The elderly also have high risks of being infected with the Coronavirus. The South Korean Society has low reproducing % so their population is aging.  

[Jasmine Weeks]

Hi Meghann,

I too had the same question about the need of South Korean men to import foreign wives.  When I looked it up, I found this article: https://www.economist.com/asia/2014/05/24/farmed-out which explains that the rural men who are farmers and fishermen are the ones who have diffuclties finding local wives since most of them leave to the city in seahc of a "better' life. I remember reading about Chinese men who are not as wealthy are haivng difficulty to fidn a wife since there are more men than women in China, girls have a lot more choices than boys. Thus, the less well-to-do men have to "import" wives as well. 

 

 

[Maria Cardenas]

Yes, I am liking the fact that women are ready for change and are ready to fight against the patriarchal society. These events that have been happening in South Korea is asking for change and laws seem to be getting abit tougher. I am glad people are being held accountable for their actions. 

[Maria Cardenas]

I find it interesting that South Korea elected Jasmine Lee, its country's first foregin-born lawmaker in 2012. For a country that loves its Korean pureness which I mean their bloodlines. I hope they are a bit more accepting of mixed-race children because Korean men are marrying foreign brides. Since Koreans are facing an aging and declining population due to low birth rate you would think that they would be more accepting of everybody that is trying to make thier society grow and become better.

[Jasmine Weeks]

Hi KImberly,

Nice post that strikes a lot of provoking thoughts. I totally agree with you that the sex scandal, differenr gender pay grade, abandaoned elderly, and discrimination against people of colors are not SK issues alone.  We seems to see these issues proliferating at our home front. I lived five different countries and although speakign different languages and culture, I tend to see similar struggles of moral issues in all the places I have been.  Perhaps the arguements always go back to what different people see as "right" and "wrong".  

 

[Meghann Seril]

Hi Jasmine. I can understand that there is an imbalance in the number of men and and women in China because of the one child policy. I would be interested to know if there were any policies previously in place that have led to the imbalance in Korea. I am also wondering if there has been a flight of women from more rural areas to urban areas causing the imbalance and if they are more successful when leaving rural areas.

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