Abstract
Among all OECD countries, Korea ranks both last in the glass ceiling index as well as lowest in fertility rates. Among some of the reasons cited by women and young people entering job markets is that women are often portrayed as having to choose between career and family, whereas men are not forced to make such a decision. Recent popular films and books such as Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 reveal the contradictions of Korean girls being prompted to both pursue careers and family while being discouraged from pursuing careers after marriage. Despite apparent wage gap numbers and declining fertility rates due in part to career trajectories post-marriage, anti-feminist discourse refutes the statistics and places blame on feminism rather than patriarchal norms in business culture. These sentiments are further fuelled by a growing transnationalization of antifeminist discourse tied in with far-right politics in the social media ‘manosphere.’ This paper is based on an ongoing study in South Korea conducted with undergraduate women on the brink of facing the post-COVID job market in Korea’s second largest city, Busan. The study investigates the issues through interviews with young people as well as those in various women’s organizations in South Korea. This is particularly salient as Korean (and migrant women in Korea) have begun to recently make more progressive gains through women’s movements, reproductive justice rights, and more political representation when the COVID pandemic set back these gains or made them less politically salient.
Presenters
Dustie SpencerTraveling Faculty, Human Rights, School for International Training, Vermont, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Vectors of Society and Culture
KEYWORDS
Feminism, South Korea, Glass ceiling, Anti-feminist discourse, Women's movements
