Source: vop.co.kr
8th of March is the International Women's Day and women all over the world celebrate their rights as a woman.
However, in Korea, International Women's Day seems to be fading away from its original purpose. In Korea, the problem of gender inequality seems to be a long-standing problem. Let's take a look and see what women's rights and gender issues exist in Korean society.
Korea is ranked number one when it comes to "Gender Pay Gap" among OECD countries with a 37% difference, which is extremely high.
Korea institute for health and social affairs found that the average income of Korean women in August 2019 is 2.02 million won, while the average income of Korean men is 3.15 million won. If calculated based on general employee income, women earn 2.66 million won, while males earn 3.69 million won. In addition, women receiving a salary that is less than the legal minimum wage accounted for 50.8%.
Last year, according to the sales report of the top 20 companies, men's salaries were 50% higher than women's. In the top 600 companies, only 22% were female.
Source: huffpost.com
On March 6, a group of people protested using the name "3시 STOP 공동행동 (3pm STOP Joint Action)" and distributed questionnaires to women who were sexually abused at work. Of all the surveys, more than 70% have experienced sexism.
Sexual oppression often begins with the use of words. In Korea, showing respect comes from the use of language. The use of polite words and tone is considered very important in Korean culture. But Korean women are not as well treated as they should be.
Here are a few examples of comments that Korea women have heard from Korean men:
"같은 나이 남직원 에게는 존댓말 하고 내겐 반말 한다. 욕이 일상화 돼있다 "
"Among male employees, they speak formally and to women employees, they speak informally. Also, they swear in front of us regularly."
"거래처 손님이 왔는데 나보고 사모님이라고했다"
"When a client came in he called me honey"
"남자한테는 사장님, 여자한테는 아줌마 라고 부른다"
"They call male shopkeepers boss and call female shopkeepers aunty"
"여자가 있어야 분위기가 밝아진다"
"Having women around brightens up the mood"
"고객 접대 때 업무상 관련 없는 부서 꼭 동참하길 강요 받았다"
"I was forced to attend dinner with clients even though I was not part of their team"
"업체 사장에게 도면을 보내 달라고 했더니 애교 보여 달라고 했다"
"I asked for blueprints and the CEO asked me to flirt with him"
There were even comments where female employees were verbally forced to look pretty, making them feel like objects. They are also told to speak softly and gently. For this reason, female employees are frequently subjected to sexual harassment and sexual abuse.
Here are some comments said by men to women about their appearance:
"여자가 회식의 꽃 이라며 가운데 자리에 앉게 했다"
"He said 'women are flowers of the party' so they got me to sit in the centre. "
"회식에 점장님이 오니 예쁘게 차려 입고 오라고 했다"
"He told me to dress up as the manager is coming to our dinner"
"남자보다 돈도 덜 주면서 화장까지 강요 한다. 바르는 것도 돈, 지우는 것도 돈 이다!"
"Women get less pay than men and are forced to do makeup when coming to work. It costs money to buy makeup and to remove makeup!"
Not only were these women asked to look their best but to also be good at their job.
One of the main reasons why companies often reject female employees is because once they get married and have children, they will quit their jobs or take leaves.
Also, the chances of women getting a promotion are very slim. Some companies advertise they welcome women but the salaries are relatively low. It almost feels like they can't find men to work for them and are giving women the opportunity but it's not equal opportunity as men.
Many women are still considered to become housewives when getting married. They tend to think men should be the source of income in the family. However, that is slowly changing. The number of househusbands has started to rise in Korea.
Source: ThroughCo
Korean women have to endure persecution in their workplace. However, at start-up companies and large companies, gender inequality has begun to fade away. But one cannot deny that many Korean companies still discriminate against female employees.
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