“University Students’ Sex Culture is Out of Control”

(Source)

I warn you: while entertaining, this article is just sensationalist tabloid trash really. Which is precisely why so many Koreans read it back in July, and now you can too!^^

하룻밤후기에 인증샷까지막가는 대학생 性문화

As far as a confirmation shot after “one night”… university students’ sex culture is out of control

  • 하룻밤 성관계 맺고 “홈런쳤다” 글 올려 / Have a one-night stand and post “hit a home run”
  • 여성을 외모 따라 엘프·휴먼·오크…게임 캐릭터에 비유 / Women described as game characters – elf, human, orc – according to their bodies
  •  만남에서 잠자리까지…온·오프라인 강좌도 / From first meeting to bed . . . on- and off-line courses

사생활 존중 안중에 없는 기형적 대인관계 우려 /Concern about abnormal personal relationships in which respect for privacy is ignored

일부 대학생들의 성(性)문화가 ‘막장’으로 치닫고 있다. 이성과의 성관계 장면을 인터넷에 올리고, 거액을 주고 성관계 맺는 법을 가르쳐주는 학원에 다니는가 하면, 스마트폰을 이용해 하룻밤 파트너를 찾아다니고 있다. 최근 문제가 된 고려대 의대생들의 동기 여학생 성추행 사건도 이 같은 ‘막장 성문화’의 한 단면을 보여준 셈이다.

The sexual culture of some university students is headed for extremes. Some post sex videos on the Internet and pay a fortune to go to academies that teach how to get sex, while others use their smartphones to look around for one-night partners.  The current problem of the Korea University medical students’ sexual molestation of a female classmate also shows an aspect of this same “extreme sexual culture.”

(Source)

성관계 후기 남기고 인증샷까지 / As far as posting a confirmation shot post-sex

지난 8일 대학생 회원이 대부분인 인터넷 포털사이트의 한 카페. ‘블루’라는 아이디를 가진 회원은 “두 번째 부킹에서 만난 이날의 홈런녀는 K대 법학과 2학년. 간단히 술 마시고 모텔에 갔습니다. 집에 데려다 준 후 전화번호 삭제”라는 글을 올렸다. 글 아래에는 여학생이 벗어놓은 것으로 보이는 속옷 사진이 첨부되어 있었다. 홈런녀의 ‘홈런’은 성관계를 의미하는 은어. 이 회원이 남긴 글은 ‘홈런 후기’, 속옷 사진은 ‘홈런 인증’에 해당한다고 한다.

July 8th, on an Internet portal site’s cafe whose members are mostly university students.  A member with the ID “Blue” posted, “Today’s home run girl, the second I met though booking [process, found in some clubs, in which waitstaff drag women over to meet male patrons], is a second-year law student at K University.  We briefly drank alcohol and then went to a motel.  Erased her number after taking her home.”  At the bottom of the post there is an attached picture of undergarments that look like a female student took them off.  The “home run” in “home run girl” is slang for sex.  They say the post that this member left represents “post-home run”, and the underwear picture is “home run confirmation.”

이 카페의 다른 글에는 이성과 어떻게 만났는지, 모텔에 갈 때까지의 과정, 상대 여성의 나이와 신체 사이즈는 물론 학교·전공까지 상세히 적혀 있었다. 사실성을 부각시키기 위해 글의 말미에는 사진이 붙어 있다. ‘인증샷’이라고도 하는 이 사진 중에는 성관계 후 자고 있는 이성의 모습은 물론 가슴, 성기, 얼굴 등이 그대로 노출되어 있는 것도 있다. 심지어 ‘구장 입장권’(모텔 신용카드 영수증)을 첨부하는 회원도 있다. 이런 ‘인증샷’ 아래에는 “대박이다” “부러워요” “저도 가르쳐주세요” 등 수백개의 댓글이 달린다. 글을 남긴 회원은 부러움을 받는 동시에 이들 세계의 ‘영웅’이 되는 것이다. 이들 카페에는 전혀 알지 못하는 회원들끼리 나이트클럽으로 ‘사냥’을 떠나자는 글도 쉽게 찾아볼 수 있다.

In other posts in this cafe, there is of course how they met the other person, the process leading to the motel, and the female partner’s age and size, and also as far as school and major are written in detail.  To highlight the reality, pictures are attached to the end of the post.  Among these pictures, also called “confirmation shots,” there are of course the woman’s post-sex sleeping form, and also their breasts, genitals, and faces as they may be exposed.  There are members who even attach the “stadium ticket” (motel credit card receipt).  Below these “confirmation shots” there are hundreds of replies like, “Awesome,” “I envy you,” and, “Teach me too.”  The member who posted this is being envied, and he is becoming the “hero” of these people’s world at the same time.  In their cafe, it is also easy to find posts in which members who don’t know each other at all invite each other to go “hunting” in a nightclub.

서울의 한 사립대 경영학과 4학년인 최모(26)씨는 “친구들과 일주일에 한 번 정도 ‘원나잇’을 즐기기 위해 클럽에 간다”며 “누가 홈런을 많이 치는지 경쟁을 하고 카페에 글도 남긴다”고 했다.

(Source)

A Mr. Choi (26), fourth-year business management student at a private university in Seoul, said, “About once a week I go to clubs with my friends to enjoy a one-night stand.  We compete to see who can hit the most home runs, and leave posts in cafes.”

다른 포털사이트에서도 유사한 카페를 쉽게 찾을 수 있다. 인기 카페는 회원이 5만명을 넘는다. 글 내용에 ‘계절학기’ ‘수강신청’ ‘취업’이라는 단어가 자주 등장, 대학생 회원이 대부분이라는 사실을 알 수 있다. 남성 회원이 많지만 일부 카페는 여성만 회원으로 받고 있으며, 여성이 올린 ‘인증샷’과 ‘후기’도 가끔씩 찾아볼 수 있다.

It is easy to find similar cafes on other portal sites.  Popular cafes have more than 5,000 members.  At the frequent appearance of phrases like “vacation school”, “course registration”, and “getting a job,” one can know that most of the members are university students. There are many male members, but some cafes accept only women as members, and “confirmation shots” and “post-[home run]” uploaded by women can sometimes be found.

이런 카페들은 대부분 2008년 이후 개설됐으며 최근 회원이 급속히 늘어나고 있다. 한 인기 카페의 경우 글과 사진의 절반이 올해 올라온 것이었다. 특히 카페의 글에는 은어가 많아 기성세대들이 이해하기가 어려울 정도. 처음 보는 이성과 전화번호를 교환했을 경우엔 ‘#-close’, 키스를 했다면 ‘k-close’ 라고 칭하고, 성관계를 했을 경우 ‘F-close’ 라고 표시한다. ‘홈런’과 달리 성관계를 하지 못하고 돈만 쓰고 나왔을 경우엔 ‘내상’이라는 용어를 쓴다.

Most of these kinds of cafes have been opened since 2008, and these days the number of members is rapidly rising. In one popular cafe’s case, half of the posts and pictures were posted this year.  In cafe posts, especially, there is so much slang in the posts that the older generation will find them hard to understand. Exchanging phone numbers with the other person is “#-close”, kissing is termed “k-close”, and sex is indicated by “F-close.”  In contrast to “home run”, when they don’t have sex and leave after just spending money, the term “nae-sahng” is used [Marilyn – language exchange partner thinks this may be the opposite of 외상 (wae-sahng) which means to buy something on credit; so basically it would be paying for something now but not getting it].

상대 여성을 지칭한 용어도 노골적이다. 얼굴과 몸매가 뛰어난 여성은 ‘엘프(요정이란 의미)’, 평범한 여성은 ‘휴먼(사람이란 의미)’, 외모가 떨어지는 여성을 ‘오크(괴물이란 뜻)’로 표현하는 식이다. 인터넷 게임에 등장하는 캐릭터 이름으로 이성관계를 게임에 비유하고 있는 것. 지난해 대학을 졸업한 회사원 정모(29)씨는 “후배들과 모이면 무슨 얘기를 하는지 알아들을 수가 없다”며 “같은 20대인데도 세대 차이가 느껴진다”고 했다.

There terms used for the female partner are also frank.  In their style of expression, women with outstanding faces and bodies are “elves”, average women are “humans”, and women with below-average appearances are “orcs.”  This is comparing relationships with the opposite sex to a game, through names of characters from Internet games.  A Mr. Jeong (29), who graduated from university last year, said, “When I get together with my juniors [younger people from the same school], I can’t understand what they’re saying.  Even though we’re all in our 20s, I feel a generational gap.”

(Sources: left, right)

스마트폰, 막장 성문화 부채/ Smartphones, fanning the flames of extreme sexual culture

최근 보급되고 있는 스마트폰은 막장 성문화의 주요 도구로 이용되고 있다. 스마트폰의 보급률과 인터넷 카페 게시물의 증가 시기가 일치하고, 선정적 게시물도 최근 집중적으로 늘어나고 있는 것. 스마트폰을 가지고 있는 대학생의 수는 지난 1월 기준으로 50%를 돌파했다. 스마트폰에는 고화질의 카메라 기능이 있을 뿐 아니라 인터넷 기능까지 있어 손쉽게 사진을 찍고 글을 올릴 수 있는 것이다.

Smartphones, popular these days, are being used as the main tools of extreme sexual culture.  The distribution rate of smart phones coincides with the age of rising numbers of Internet cafe posts, and suggestive posts, especially, are currently rising.  The number of university students who have smart phones has risen 50% since January.  Smartphones have not just a high-definition camera, but also Internet access, so one can easily take a photo and make a post.

여기에 이성과의 즉석 만남을 가능하게 해 준 애플리케이션이 등장하면서 스마트폰은 일회성 성문화를 더욱 부추기고 있다. 인터넷 카페 등에는 ‘하데로 홈런친 이야기’ ’1㎞ 홈런 인증’ 등의 글을 쉽게 찾을 수 있다. 하데(하이데어)와 1㎞는 즉석 만남을 주선하는 스마트폰의 애플리케이션이다. 이용자가 100만명이나 되는 이런 애플리케이션은 반경 1㎞ 안에 있는 가입자들의 목록을 보여주고, 전혀 모르는 불특정 다수의 사람들이 쪽지를 교환할 수 있는 프로그램이다. 대학생 김모(26)씨는 “여자들에게 만나자는 쪽지를 쭉 돌리다 보면 한두 명 답이 온다”면서 “만나는 과정이 쉬울수록 그날 밤을 같이 보낼 확률도 높다”고 했다. 이런 애플리케이션의 보급으로 소셜네트워크서비스(SNS) 시대의 연애, 즉 소셜데이팅(Social Dating)이란 용어가 탄생했지만 건전한 교제보다는 ‘하룻밤 교제’에 사용되는 사례도 적지 않은 것이다.

Moreover, with the appearance of apps that make possible impromptu meetings with members of the opposite sex, smartphones are further encouraging one-off sexual culture.  In sites like Internet cafes, it is easy to find posts like, “story of a home run through Ha-deh” and “1km  home run confirmation.”  Ha-deh (ha-ee-dey-uh [hi there]) and 1km are smartphone applications that arrange impromptu meetings.  Apps like this, which have 1 million users, are programs that show a list of members within a radius of one kilometer and allow random, unknown people to exchange messages. University student Mr. Kim (26), said, “If I keep sending out messages to girls saying, ‘Let’s meet,’ I get answers from one or two people.  The easier it is to meet, the higher the chance that we will spend that night together.”  Through the popularity of this kind of app, dating in the era of social network service (SNS), or “Social Dating” was born, but there are fewer instances of it being used for healthy relationships than for “one-night relationships.”

성관계 가르치는 학원 / Academies that teach sex

비뚤어진 성문화는 새 직업도 만들어냈다. 할리우드 영화 ‘미스터 히치(Mr. Hichi)’와 우리나라 영화 ‘시라노 연애조작단’에 나오는 이른바 연애 컨설턴트다. 연애 컨설턴트는 연애를 못하거나 짝사랑에 잠 못 이루는 남녀를 구제해 주는 직업으로 1980년대 미국에서 처음 시작된 것으로 알려져 있다.

Warped sexual culture has also generated new jobs.  They are so-called dating consultants, like in the Hollywood movie Hitch and the Korean movie Cyrano Agency.  Dating consultants, beginning in the United States in the 1980s, are known as jobs for saving men or women who are bad at dating or can’t fulfill their one-sided love.

그러나 우리나라에선 연애 컨설턴트의 역할이 변질돼 길거리와 클럽에서 이성을 유혹하는 법, 단 한 번의 만남으로 성관계를 갖는 방법 등을 가르치고 있다.

However, dating consultants’ role in Korea is degenerate and involves teaching methods like ways to seduce the opposite sex on the street or in a club, and how to get from the first meeting to sex in just one shot.

‘픽업 아티스트’라고도 불리는 이들은 남성 전용 인터넷 카페에서 주로 활동한다. 자칭 ‘연애 고수’ ‘작업의 달인’들이 픽업 아티스트이다. 이들은 주로 대학생 회원들을 상대로 돈을 받고 ‘비법’을 가르친다. 통상 온라인 수강료는 30만원, 오프라인 수강료는 150만원쯤 한다. 단과반과 종합반으로 나뉠 뿐 아니라 1박 2일 동안 집중 교육을 받는 ‘부트캠프(신병훈련소)’까지 있다. 길거리에서 여성을 유혹하는 ‘헌팅이론’, 나이트클럽에서 이성을 유혹하는 ‘클럽이론’, 즉석 만남에서 잠자리까지 이르는 방법을 가르치는 ‘홈런이론’ 등 학과목도 다양하다. 픽업 아티스트 A씨는 “20대 초반 대학생들이 주요 수강생”이라며 “말하는 법부터 (전화)번호 따는 법, 홈런치는 법까지 다 가르쳐준다”고 했다. 그는 또 “직접 제작한 교재를 사용하는데, 강의를 듣고 나면 인생이 180도 바뀔 것”이라고 주장했다.

(Source)

These people, also known as “pickup artists,” are mainly active on men’s Internet cafes.  The self-styled “dating masters” and “come-on experts” are pickup artists. They mainly receive money from and teach the “secret method” to university students.  Usually, tuition for online is 300,000 won and for offline is about 1.5 million won.  They are not just split up into specialized courses and comprehensive courses, but there are even two-day/one-night “boot camps” for intensive instruction.  There is a variety of subjects, like “hunting theory”, which is how to seduce a woman on the street, “club theory”, for how to seduce the opposite sex in a night club, and “home run theory”, which teaches how to get from a first meeting to bed [in one shot].  Pickup artist “A” said, “Students are mainly university students in their early 20s.  I teach everything from how to speak, to how to get a (phone) number, to how to hit a home run.”  He also claimed, “I use teaching materials that I made myself; after attending my lecture your life will turn around 180 degrees.”

전문가들은 막장 성문화에 대해 대인관계의 왜곡은 물론 사생활 침해 등 우리 사회에 많은 부작용을 가져올 수 있다고 경고한다. 서강대 사회학과 전상진 교수는 “즉흥성에 의존한 인간관계가 젊은이들 사이에서 이뤄지고 있다”며 “깊숙한 관계가 되기 위해선 인간관계의 친밀도가 필요한데 젊은이들 사이에선 인터넷 기술 등의 발달로 인스턴트 섹스의 갈망이 커지고 있다”고 했다. 전 교수는 또 “인증샷 등을 볼 때 개인의 사생활을 지켜줘야 한다는 생각도 느슨해지고 있다. 기형적이고 불구 상태의 대인관계가 사회에 만연할까 우려스러울 정도”라고 했다.

Experts warn that extreme sexual culture could have side effects like distortion of personal relationships and of course violation of private life. Sogang University sociology professor Jeon Sang Jin said, “Relationships that depend on off-handednss are happening between young people. For a deep relationship, a level of [emotional] closeness is necessary, but between young people, with the development of things like Internet technology, the desire for instant sex is growing.”  Professor Jeon added, “When we see things like confirmation shots, our belief that personal privacy must be protected loosens.  I wonder if personal relationships’ abnormal and deformed state will spread in society, to an alarming level.”

Writers: Seok Nam-jun (namjun@chosun.com); interns Seo Sang-hee (4th year Chung-ang University student) and Kim Hyeon-gyeong (4th year Ehwa Women’s University student)

(Thanks very much to Marilyn for the translation)

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Getting an Abortion in Korea

(Source: unknown)

Thanks again to this university student for taking the time to write about her recent experience. Naturally, she’d like to remain anonymous, but she’d be happy to answer any questions readers may have in the comments (provided they’re not too intrusive):

……For me it started when I didn’t get my period. I was a bit worried as two weeks ago, during intercourse, my boyfriend’s condom slipped and so we had to change in the middle to a new one. Anyways, the pregnancy test kit came out with two visible lines. I was surprised and was stunned for about two minutes. Then, reality hit me: I didn’t cry, I immediately called my boyfriend, and we talked about this together, which I think was, for me, a better way to relax and calm down than crying.

We accessed the situation and decided to get an abortion, as we were both university students and thus didn’t have any ability to support ourselves. For me, having a baby in Korea meant that any chances of you getting a professional job was over, and I just couldn’t face that, not only because of my dreams but also because of the huge demands that my parents bore to put me in college. Even if we had the baby, I reasoned, we wouldn’t be able to raise him/her in a high-quality environment, as both of us would probably be working at low paid jobs w/ long hours just to support our family. We began to search up abortion clinics in our area and was lucky to find one with ease.

However, due to the government regulating abortions with more severity, we were worried about the price of an abortion. We searched up and found that (I was 4 weeks pregnant, or 2 weeks past from the initial fertilization) about 3 yrs ago, before the minister of health had said that stupid comment about abortion and fertility rates, it was about 400,000 won for women who were 4 weeks pregnant like me. But, more current searches showed that it could now be anywhere from 1 to 2 million won – basically it depends on what the hospital says, as there is no set price, and with the new regulations doctors can lose their license if it’s proved that they’ve done it more than 3 times. We were very stressed over this issue, as prices tend to skyrocket with each passing week (source, right).

Anyways, we entered the clinic, and I got an ultrasound. The doctor said that the fetus at that stage was too small, and that I should visit the next week. I was initially skeptical as I wasn’t sure if the doctor was telling the truth or if she wanted me to pay a bit more, but I had no choice, and did as the doctor told me. The following week I re-visited the clinic but this time a different doctor checked the fetus. And what she said made me upset. Basically, she told me that I shouldn’t have such a loose lifestyle, that I should care more about contraception, why I had waited so long before coming to visit, and so on and so forth. But I had no choice, since if I go to a different clinic I have to pay for the ultrasound again. After that dismal lecture, I went to discuss the pay and other things with another person (I don’t know what her job is exactly-maybe some sort of consultant?). The pay was 800,000 won, which was a relief. The consultant explained everything: how I shouldn’t eat anything 6 hrs before the operation, how I might not be able to have a baby ever again, how much it costs, what the aftereffects were, how I needed my boyfriend (who’s a bit older than I was) to act as a guardian and so I needed him to come with me on the day of the operation, and so forth.

During the next day, we desperately raised some money; I was worried as well not because of the money but because of the guilt. I tried to assuage my feelings – after all, a 5 week old baby doesn’t have its cerebrum developed yet; it doesn’t have feelings – but it was a bit hard. But in the end, the day came, and I went to the clinic, signed everything (the abortion was to be called a missed abortion, and since it’s outlawed I can’t demand any sort of papers from them), paid (in cash), and got ready for the operation. When I went into the operation room, it frightened me. There was this bed, and there was a little metal bowl right under it-that’s when it hit me the most that something that could potentially grow into a being with feelings would be erased forever, never to appear again, and it made me quite sad, but I had no choice – I couldn’t back out. They strapped me onto the bed, and I was knocked out. The next thing I remember is being back in the little ward (it’s very small-about the size of a small elevator, and is for one person only) with my boyfriend right next to me; apparently I had just cried, hugged the nurse and said “sorry” and “thank you”, and then had thrown up. After about 30 minutes of lying down and talking with my boyfriend, the dizziness subsided, the cramp in my stomach had went away, and I walked out of the ward. The lady at the counter said that I had to re-visit about 2 days from now, and then every 3~4 days to check up for the next two weeks (the price was all included in the initial payment) and gave me some medicine.

Overall, it was not that much of a traumatic experience, but I won’t ever be able to forget the little bowl. It saddens me even now (end).

(Source)

See here and here for two more accounts of getting an abortion, in Seoul and Busan respectively, and here for more context on the criminalization of abortion in Korea in recent years (or, technically, the sudden enforcement of existing laws, after being ignored for 60 years).

Update – See here for a thoughtful response to this post by Roboseyo.

Update 2 – And here for another by Angry K-pop Fan. Just to clarify something mentioned in both though, while my wife, for instance, was once unfortunate enough to come across a very judgmental pharmacist when buying the pill, that was over a decade ago. Indeed, as Gomushin Girl and many other commenters here have pointed out, that is extremely rare these days (especially in the cities), and regardless they did (and do) still sell it nevertheless, unlike some US pharmacists that refuse to for religious reasons.

Korean Gender Reader

(Slightly risque, slightly awkward, and very badly photoshopped poster for upcoming movie You’re My Pet. See Dramabeans and Seoulbeats for more details)

1) Women 3 times more likely to be sexually-assaulted in Korea than in the US?

From The Washington Times, as part of an article on plans to revive women-only subway cars in Seoul:

In South Korea, women are more often victims of sexual assault than their counterparts in the United States. Reports from the Ministry of Gender and Family show that in 2008, the latest year data were available, 5.1 of every 1,000 adult women in South Korea were the victims of rape or attempted rape.

In the U.S. in 2007, also the most recent year data were available, that number is 1.8 per 1,000 females.

While that’s just one source, and needs to consider possible different definitions of “sexual assault” and methods of data collection used, it is at least based on official statistics. If the comparison holds true, then this news shatters widely-held perceptions that Korea is much the safer country in this regard.

Meanwhile, see the comments here for an extensive earlier discussion on merits and demerits of women-only subway cars; #2 here for more on increasing sexual assault rates in Seoul; here for more on new groups of “sheriffs” set up to patrol Seoul subways; here for more on a new smartphone app that makes it very quick and easy to alert police when being harassed (and has already been successfully used); here for which Seoul subway station has seen the most sexual assaults; and finally here for some context, on how bad groping is in Korea.

Update - The Hankyoreh is also reporting high sexual harassment rates for irregular workers.

2) Teens involved in 1 in 10 cases of prostitution

Being such a short report from Yonhap though, let me quote it in full here:

Minors have accounted for one out of 10 prostitution cases, police said Tuesday, prompting calls for proper measures to discipline and protect youth.

According to the data collected by the National Police Agency, 1,184 adolescents aged 13-19 were caught for buying or selling sex in the first seven months of this year, accounting for 9.7 percent of the total of 12,212 offenders.

3) How to hit on an Asian girl How not to harass an Asian-American woman

As Sociological Images explains (and later taken up by Jezebel), this is a video made:

…at Sweet.Sour.Satire [to] highlight the specific kinds of comments Asian American women often face from strangers and even acquaintances. These experiences, both on the street and on dates, represent the intersection of generic sexism and the stereotype of the submissive, hyper-feminized Asian woman, plus…

Read the rest there.

4) Blog recommendation: Quibbling Jottings

With thanks to Diana Sung (a.k.a Going Places) for passing it on, let me heartily recommend Jeanny Lee’s blog. A Korean-American woman from LA that does visual effects for films (but in Korea at the moment), I particularly liked her long analysis of a recent Economist article on Asian women’s increasing rejection of marriage (which I’d overlooked because of this slightly shorter, teaser version of the article that I commented on), and especially her take on “Korean Vanity”. To wit:

What…can one do, when one is fast approaching 30 with no sign of improvement in one’s skin?

Turns out, one spends money. Korean women use time and money to get their skin to be better than it really is, and I was rather taken aback by the sheer amount of products and propaganda that bombards me from all angles.

Advertising is pervasive, especially in such a wired country, to the point that I have a hard time remembering that when I was back home, I wasn’t too perturbed about my skin’s condition. Here in Korea, there are commercials, billboards, and constant reminders that YOUR SKIN IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

Read the rest here.

(Source)

(Also on the subject of recommendations, the British F-Word Blog has a list of good feminist podcasts available here, albeit none of which are Korea or even Asia-related sorry)

5) Getting an abortion in Seoul: a foreigner’s story

See here for some very detailed and useful information, with contact details for a friendly, non-judgmental, English-speaking abortion-provider in Seoul (via: Hot Yellow Fellows).

6) Quick links on gender inequality in Korea:

- Fostering female CEOs (The Korea Herald editorial)

- Gender inequality remains prevalent in Korean workplaces (The Korea Herald)

- For women, a nearly impervious glass ceiling at major corporations (The Hankyoreh)

- Glass ceiling remains in S.Korea’s firms (Yonhap)

- Korean women struggle to break glass ceiling (Korea JoongAng Daily)

Thanks very much to John Power of The Korea Herald for passing this one on to me, who pointed out that unlike The Hankyoreh article above (and I’d add most others), this article at least mentioned the important fact that the lack of women in top management positions in turn means that women do not aspire to them. In short, things are not entirely companies’ fault.

- Korean paternity leave to be extended from three to five days (Arirang)

- Employment rate for women in their 50s at highest in decades (The Hankyoreh)

- Korean women use invention to jump over gender gap (Yohhap)

- Japan’s sexist labour market: hit the road (The Economist, for the sake of comparison)

(Source: unknown)

7) Yet another K-pop idol has a dramatic weight loss

Seoulbeats discusses Ji-young of Kara’s recent weight loss in the context of the extraordinary pressures on Korean female stars to be (dangerously) skinny.

Also, see Allkpop for a rare (male) vocalist who spurns cosmetic surgery despite his eyes being the butt of many jokes; The Marmot’s Hole on how people that once bought brand items to fit in the crowd are now buying them to stand out instead; and Sociological Images on how most cosmetic surgery patients in the US undergo procedures because they felt ugly or strange, but which I don’t think is quite as important a consideration for Koreans as aiding in job interviews etc. is (for reasons like these).

8) On being a female teacher in the Korean English classroom

From bitter personal experience, there are many factors that render an ESL career in Korea ultimately unfulfilling, unrewarding, and frustrating. But unlike female teachers, at least I don’t have to be constantly cute and/or use aegyo to gain some respect from students, if indeed “respect” is the right term for it!

9) A round-up of stuff from the rest of Northeast Asia:

- Gender, obentos, and the state in Japan

- Durex overcomes Taiwanese youths’ reluctance to talk about sex by building an old-school fortune booth to distribute condoms and warnings about unsafe sex (see video above)

- China is losing the war against porn, according to sex scholar Katrien Jacobs

- Chinese Law Could Make Divorced Women Homeless

- The Puffy Shoes: NOT your average Japanese girl-group

- Complex attitudes to breastfeeding in China

10) Sticking it to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF)

The Ministry does do a lot of good work on very limited resources (only 0.12% of the government total), but in addition to criminalizing abortion in order to increase the birth rate, at the moment it’s best known in Korea for banning pop songs every other week for being “harmful to youth”, but usually for completely inane, contradictory, and arbitrary reasons (and in one recent case, 3 years after the song had been released!). Very much speaking for their entire generation then, Phantom, a new project trio under Brand New Music, has released a stunning medley arrangement of songs banned by MOGEF in response:

As explained at AllKPop:

Members Hanhae, Sanchez, and Kiggen (HybRefine) delivered a song titled “19 Song (Love Songs That Teens Cannot Listen To)”, which contains lyrics by popular banned songs like TVXQ‘s “Mirotic“, DJ DOC‘s “I’m This Kind of Person“, Vibe’s “I’m Always Drinking“, GD&TOP‘s “Knock Out” and “Don’t Go Home“, 10cm‘s “Americano“, and 2PM‘s “Hands Up“.

At the end, they rewrote the lyrics of “Americano” to say, “Elementary, junior high, and high school students, don’t listen to this!”  To further emphasize their jab at the MOGEF, the staff brought in students with their eyes and ears covered for the video.

Finally, apologies in advance, but work commitments mean that next week’s song translation may have to go up on Tuesday or Wednesday rather than Monday. Sorry!

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Your Only One! Dongju!

(Source: Busan Focus, 08.09.2011, p. 19)

Sure, the copy may not be the best. But, vaguely reminding me of Noddy characters from my childhood, I just loved the – ahem – little workers in this recent ad for Dongju College in Busan. My daughters too, who are busy gluing them onto paper and drawing houses and cars around them as I type this!^^

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