Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bthomas14]

I'm curious to know what Korea, Seoul specifically, is like for women. I've heard the atmosphere can be pretty sexist but perhaps this only applies to Korean women? Is it more or less pronounced in Korea as opposed to other Asian countries. Can any female teachers in Korea relate their experiences?


I ask because I'm trying to decide whether to take a job in Japan or Korea. My boyfriend has accepted a position in Korea and I'm wondering if my experience would be that much different in either country. Not just pertaining to sexism - this is just one of my bigger concerns. And that Seoul is a "concrete jungle."

[Yu_Bum_suk]

How old are you? It makes a bigger difference than your sex, actually. If you're looking for sexism you'll certainly find plenty of it, but if you hang around with westerners and don't learn any of the language you can also remain blissfully unaware. You'll probably also see more evidence of it if you work at a public school.

[cj1976]

Gender roles in Korea are fairly clear compared to many western countries. A woman's role is basically to look pretty, do what she's told, get married by 30 and pop out a son. After that she can expect to live a life of servitude being dominated by the iron will of her mother-in-law.

[Jane]

Nationality trumps gender; they will look at you and see an 'alien' first, and second your gender, so not so much a problem here.

However, I dress a lot more conservatively here, foregoing wearing certain things that I would wear at home, because being a non-Korean female, you will attract the wrong sort if you dress too 'sexy'. Korean women, on the other hand, can pull off a mini-skirt without recourse.

[Scotticus]