The Korean Way (6): ajumma power
The next Prime Minister of South Korea might be a woman, if she isn't stopped by some scandal. The former Prime Minister developed a serious case of golfitis, and had to step down. Playing golf is considered to be close to corruption in Korea, or at least shady (and I agree, more about that in a future posting). But a woman in charge of Korean administration... would it be only window-dressing, and not much else?
Generally speaking, women in Korea do have problems. Take the wages for example; women employed outside of the home earn only 65 percent of what men takes home (2005). In the 50 leading Korean companies, only one in five are women, a small increase from the year before.
The fertility rate in Korea is among the lowest in the world: 1,2 kids per woman. One of the reasons is that there is no state-run child care, and Korean women are supposed to care for three generations – and nowadays while also working outside of the home. Until last year, when Korea's Supreme Court ended an old Confucian tradition, female clan members had no legal standing: only men could benefit from clan business deals. A lot of real estate and land is owned by Koreas clans.
But the ajummas (Korean for middle-aged, married woman) get their revenge when the kids have moved out and they divorce their husbands. Almost half of all marriages end in divorce in Korea, as in the U.S. They join forces with their ajumma neighbours, form online communities and e-mailing lists on the web, and start flexing their power in local politics.
You only have to ride the subway in Seoul to notice the middle-aged women, short, wide-hipped and flat-chested, grim locking and unstoppable. I'm not saying they're ugly, they just have this determined look on their faces. Usually they position themselves right in front of the opening doors of the subway car, while everyone else stand on the arrow-marks on the platform, to let passengers off. Not so the ajummas. Men usually look a bit scared of them, and I would certainly not mess with them. If you don't get on the subway quick enough, you feel their hard fingers prodding your back, while they push themselves in position to conquer a seat inside. They also have elbows.
Divorced or not would probably be all the same for most of these women. Eight out of ten Korean men don't do anything but watch TV at home anyway, they never do any household chores and they don't do anything with the kids, according to a recent report. Most men are obliged to work long hours, and often spend the evenings in bars, drinking soju with their (male) colleagues from work. Going home to the family is considered an insult to the boss, and is frowned upon.
Not to paint it too black and white here, the rule is that the man brings home the salary, and gives it to his wife. She then gives him "pocket money". However, the husband sometimes understates his salary... That is why some companies still pay the wages in cash, and not with a bank transfer or check – the male employees don't want a paper trail.
Generally speaking, women in Korea do have problems. Take the wages for example; women employed outside of the home earn only 65 percent of what men takes home (2005). In the 50 leading Korean companies, only one in five are women, a small increase from the year before.
The fertility rate in Korea is among the lowest in the world: 1,2 kids per woman. One of the reasons is that there is no state-run child care, and Korean women are supposed to care for three generations – and nowadays while also working outside of the home. Until last year, when Korea's Supreme Court ended an old Confucian tradition, female clan members had no legal standing: only men could benefit from clan business deals. A lot of real estate and land is owned by Koreas clans.
But the ajummas (Korean for middle-aged, married woman) get their revenge when the kids have moved out and they divorce their husbands. Almost half of all marriages end in divorce in Korea, as in the U.S. They join forces with their ajumma neighbours, form online communities and e-mailing lists on the web, and start flexing their power in local politics.
You only have to ride the subway in Seoul to notice the middle-aged women, short, wide-hipped and flat-chested, grim locking and unstoppable. I'm not saying they're ugly, they just have this determined look on their faces. Usually they position themselves right in front of the opening doors of the subway car, while everyone else stand on the arrow-marks on the platform, to let passengers off. Not so the ajummas. Men usually look a bit scared of them, and I would certainly not mess with them. If you don't get on the subway quick enough, you feel their hard fingers prodding your back, while they push themselves in position to conquer a seat inside. They also have elbows.
Divorced or not would probably be all the same for most of these women. Eight out of ten Korean men don't do anything but watch TV at home anyway, they never do any household chores and they don't do anything with the kids, according to a recent report. Most men are obliged to work long hours, and often spend the evenings in bars, drinking soju with their (male) colleagues from work. Going home to the family is considered an insult to the boss, and is frowned upon.
Not to paint it too black and white here, the rule is that the man brings home the salary, and gives it to his wife. She then gives him "pocket money". However, the husband sometimes understates his salary... That is why some companies still pay the wages in cash, and not with a bank transfer or check – the male employees don't want a paper trail.
posted by Pelle at Wednesday, April 12, 2006
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