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seoulman1
Joined: 02 Feb 2007
Location: Jamsil
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 Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:34 am Post subject: Role of women in Korea? |
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I find Korean women to be a bit of an enigma. Does anyone know a lot about the role of women in Korea?
I mean are women getting more rights as time goes by like western countries? Apparently there are some laws here that say if you cheat on your husband or wife you go to jail?
Are there many women in politics in Korea? Do Korean women even care about the role of women in Korea?? 
It seems to me that most are simply interested in the man, house, and 2.5. |
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mikekim
Joined: 11 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 10:38 am Post subject: |
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| Seeing that you can "buy" women in Korea. They are like property. |
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50 Won
Joined: 14 Jan 2007
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| Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 10:49 am Post subject: |
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| procreate and house-keep |
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Atavistic
Joined: 22 May 2006
Location: How totally stupid that Korean doesn't show in this area.
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| Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 12:06 pm Post subject: Re: Role of women in Korea? |
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| seoulman1 wrote: |
It seems to me that most are simply interested in the man, house, and 2.5. |
I don't know if they're interested in that or stuck with that, but either way, I think 2.5 is too high. More like 1.7 maybe. |
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vox
Joined: 13 Feb 2005
Location: Jeollabukdo
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| Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 3:37 pm Post subject: |
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| mikekim wrote: |
| Seeing that you can "buy" women in Korea. They are like property. |
cough- Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire - cough cough.
Excuse me. Frog in my throat, I guess.
Yes women in Korea are getting more rights as time goes on. Sometimes the kinds of rights they get are shocking (as in shockingly late) but in other countries (e.g. Canada) the time difference in similar rights is less than 50 years.
Marital rape for example - was considered impossible in this country until August 2004 when the first case resulted in a successful conviction. I believe in Canada the similar law came into effect in the 70's? Somebody please correct me if I'm off there.
In 2005 a stat came out showing that about 80% of new businesses in Korea were started by women, not men.
Also in that year another law was repealed that previously stated that even if a widow inherited all her husband's estate, financial control over that estate was bypassed over her and handed to the first son. In the case involved, the first son was an infant or very young child.
And in 2005 when the global women's conference descended on Seoul and supposed themselves the mouthpieces for women in prostitution who couldn't speak, a few thousand prostitutes protested in front of city hall and said, 'leave us the f*ck alone, we're freely choosing this profession' and lo and behold the crackdown backed off. It wasn't that smooth(the women's conference shot back that these women were being forced to protest by their pimps, and in response to that extremely uninsightful, unresearched comment, several of the prostitutes went on hunger strikes) but the result was that another crackdown was averted. Well that's not much but it's more empowerment and self-determination than their co-workers are getting in Bolivia these days.
And just last year a female ex-employee successfully sued her boss for all kinds of pressure to participate in inappropriate sexual innuendos as part of the corporate after-work culture of initiation. I think it was a software company and she got paid 30,000,000 Won.
So yeah, big strides, but more work to be done, for sure.
SIDENOTE - PRACTICING EQUALITY ON THE OTHER SIDE
It's been mentioned twice to me that there is now a Korean quota in place to ensure a minimum number of Korean male teachers (as well as female teachers) are in elementary school positions. Maybe it's just particular to my province. I can't believe that though.
Last edited by vox on Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:43 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Vancouver
Joined: 12 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 4:38 pm Post subject: |
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| 50 Won wrote: |
| procreate and house-keep |
and work. All my aunts are housewives, but a couple of them have a jobs too. well, like two or three i think. |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Korean women are kicking the crap out of Korean men now. I'm sure you see it in your classes. Ask your class who has done their homework. I'm sure most of the girls will raise their hand. Only a handful of guys will. In 10-20 years, women are going to run this country because the men are too busy drinking soju, seeing prostitutes, and playing video games. |
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doggyji
Joined: 21 Feb 2006
Location: Toronto - Hamilton - Vineland - St. Catherines
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| Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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| pkang0202 wrote: |
| In 10-20 years, women are going to run this country because the men are too busy drinking soju, seeing prostitutes, and playing video games. |
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cruisemonkey
Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Location: Hopefully, the same place as my luggage.
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| Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 7:01 pm Post subject: Re: Role of women in Korea? |
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| seoulman1 wrote: |
| I find Korean women to be a bit of an enigma. Does anyone know a lot about the role of women in Korea? |
Yes, I'm a expert. The roll of women in K-land is to:
1. Find a husband.
2. Produce male progeny.
3. Stop having sex.
4. Give 'hubby' just enough money for smokes, soju and the occasional harlot.  |
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Real Reality
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 7:24 pm Post subject: |
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| pkang0202 wrote: |
| Korean women are kicking the crap out of Korean men now. I'm sure you see it in your classes. Ask your class who has done their homework. I'm sure most of the girls will raise their hand. Only a handful of guys will. In 10-20 years, women are going to run this country because the men are too busy drinking soju, seeing prostitutes, and playing video games. |
That is why Korean women need the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, right? I guess the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family wants to make sure Korean women complete their military service.
Ministry of Gender Equality and Family
http://english.mogef.go.kr/index.html
Policy for Foreigners
Ministry of Gender Equality and Family
http://www.mogef.go.kr/dev/board/board.jsp?id=eub0700&menuID=eub0700
Notice: The issues focus on foreign women. Is that gender equality? |
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vox
Joined: 13 Feb 2005
Location: Jeollabukdo
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| Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 7:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Real Reality wrote: |
| pkang0202 wrote: |
| Korean women are kicking the crap out of Korean men now. I'm sure you see it in your classes. Ask your class who has done their homework. I'm sure most of the girls will raise their hand. Only a handful of guys will. In 10-20 years, women are going to run this country because the men are too busy drinking soju, seeing prostitutes, and playing video games. |
That is why Korean women need the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, right? I guess the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family wants to make sure Korean women complete their military service.
Ministry of Gender Equality and Family
http://english.mogef.go.kr/index.html
Policy for Foreigners
Ministry of Gender Equality and Family
http://www.mogef.go.kr/dev/board/board.jsp?id=eub0700&menuID=eub0700
Notice: The issues focus on foreign women. Is that gender equality? |
Interesting stuff. I actually had a larger post-reply above about the deplorable situation of gender inequality in Canada
(for reference, check Spreading Misandry: The Teaching Of Contempt For Men In Popular Culture,
http://mqup.mcgill.ca/book.php?bookid=1323
and Legalizing Misandry: From Public Shame To Systemic Discrimination Against Men
http://mqup.mcgill.ca/book.php?bookid=1966
both available on the University of British Columbia Family Law section of recommended books) and recent signs the government would like to correct it but I initially felt it was too distracting to the OP. But since the issue of the efficacy of such Ministry offices has been raised, and since I feel I can bring it home to the OP, I'd like to mention that the National Action Committee For The Status Of Women, a federally funded Canadian institution with 16 offices across the country, just this January had 12 of its 16 offices across the country shut down by the Conservative Federal government, citing complaints of promoting gross inequalities and ineffectiveness in promoting gender equality. I think the administration actually said they were looking for a new model.
I heard about some of the activities they were doing and some of it was deplorable. The one that was the most offensive to me as a previous charity worker was the manner in which they were doling out food rations to poor families. Families whose parents were unemployed or underemployed would have food delivered to their homes with just enough food to be given to the mothers and children but the fathers were intentionally factored out of the equation. There are even reports of daughters receiving preferential treatment over sons if you can believe that. I've never been so poor as to need these services but I can't imagine that this makes sense to anyone on the receiving end. After I learned that, I understood more of the Conservative drive to scrap the institution and go back to formula. Good stuff. F*ck 'em I say. Let every office be shut down and a whole new institution started, 'The National Action Committee for Egalitarianism' and one of the first things they could do is implement a 50% minimum demographic for men in the Canadian workplace, to accompany the current legislation promoting the 50% minimum demographic for women in the workplace.
These ministries certainly have a need to exist at a certain point in a country's social development but after a few major social developments (looking solely at Canada's example) if they don't radically change their mandate toward explicit egalitarianism, they appear to do more harm than good.
Barring sensational exceptions such as Korea's track record in dealing with rape victims, generally speaking this is one of the few instances in which I side with the Korean position that Koreans should be assimilating western social advancements according to Korean priorities, and not according to those of the West. Less chance of f*cking it up the way the West has done.
As for the alleged disparity in classroom performance between boys and girls, the dirty little secret is out back home that boys and their unique aptitudes have been grossly underserved by the system for decades, at least according to my Canadian kindergarten public schoolteacher contact who's studying the issue. Start including lesson plans and activities that use their inclinations more, and you'll start seeing changes in your boys. I have, and I do. |
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Control Z
Joined: 20 Jun 2007
Location: Anyang
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| Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:15 pm Post subject: |
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I've been told the following several times.
A Korean woman has three phases in her life:
1) Serve her parents.
2) Serve her husband and his parents.
3) Serve her oldest son.
Sign me up!
Seriously, this isn't some belief to which only Korean senior citizens subscribe. I've heard this sentiment and others like it from men in their 30s. A woman's place in Korean society is ultimately a sad one. |
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Mix1
Joined: 08 May 2007
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| Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 10:59 pm Post subject: |
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| pkang0202 wrote: |
| Korean women are kicking the crap out of Korean men now. I'm sure you see it in your classes. Ask your class who has done their homework. I'm sure most of the girls will raise their hand. Only a handful of guys will. In 10-20 years, women are going to run this country because the men are too busy drinking soju, seeing prostitutes, and playing video games. |
Hmm...sounds pretty good for the men actually. The women run the country and work all day...while the men can spend more time drinking soju, seeing prostitutes, and playing video games! Everyone wins! (except the children who need care and mentoring during the day...but they can just play video games too, right? If they get bored with that, just slip some soju in their milk and go visit a prostitute, etc.)
But ,agreed. My female students are doing great! The guys are more into bullying each other and playing video games and falling way behind the girls.
It seems like the women here actually grow up, while most of the men stay in some sort of prolonged adolescence for much of their lives. |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2007 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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Interesting discussion...I especially like PK's comment about women being poised to overtake men because of their lack of priorities.
I would like to add as someone married to a Korean, when I am over at her parents house I was banned from the kitchen (in terms of helping) during the first year. Even if I tried to help cook, I was told no. The in-laws have softened their stance lately though. What'st funny is that my brother-in-law came over to their house one time when I was in the kitchen and his wife (my wife's older sister) said I should teach him how to cook. |
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mikekim
Joined: 11 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2007 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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| pkang0202 wrote: |
| Korean women are kicking the crap out of Korean men now. I'm sure you see it in your classes. Ask your class who has done their homework. I'm sure most of the girls will raise their hand. Only a handful of guys will. In 10-20 years, women are going to run this country because the men are too busy drinking soju, seeing prostitutes, and playing video games. |
Impossible, women may have the grades, but men have the money. You inherit wealth and power and its an old boys network. The judges are all in the pockets of the CEO's and vice versa. They aren't breaking up that network for a looooooong time. A couple of extra girls going to SKY universities is not going to change anything. |
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