IN MY five years as an electrical engineering student, one of the reasons why I didn’t stay in the course is because of the discrimination I received from my male classmates. In a male-dominated course, it was hard to stand out unless one stands out. In our group projects, the males in my group would automatically conclude that females should handle the paper works. One time, a male classmate told me, “stay there and relax. Just take down whatever we’re doing.” He was implying that women, like me, should not do the “hard work” because they can do it better.
In South Korea, it was in 2009 when girl group powerhouse 2ne1 broke Korea’s standard of female idols—cutesy and feminine. They took over the world with their strong and female-empowered songs in their 6 years in the industry. Unlike most girl groups, 2ne1 became the girl-crush idol group for charting above Korea’s limited female standards.
Feminism is an ongoing trend in South Korea. This movement aims to eradicate the barrier that distinguishes one sex from the other. In 2018, the death of a 23-year-old woman in the hands of the man whose reason for killing is “women kept on ignoring me” caused an uproar in the hearts of other Korean females. It ignited the burning passion for equality and justice in the seemingly open-secret misogyny in Korea’s social climate.
The rise of feminism in Korea started when a woman was harassed in the Isu station for her feminist choices. The woman was attacked because she wore no makeup and she cut her hair short—which is against the ideals of what a Korean woman should be, long hair and a wearer of make-up. Koreans believe that when a woman goes out of her home without make-up, it is a form of disrespect to the people who see her. If a normal citizen faced that kind of discrimination, how much more will Korean female stars receive daily?
Korean idols like Na Eun, Seolhyun and Irene, were heavily criticized, most especially by their male fans, when they displayed an act of support for feminism. The picture of Na Eun which has a “Girls can do anything” statement on her phone case, caused an alarm in her fanbase as they believed that Na Eun was supporting feminism. Irene received backlash when she said that she was reading Kim Ji Young’s Born 1982—a book that is heavily claimed to be feminist. Also, Seolhyun received hate reactions from fans when she unfollowed three anti-feminism celebrities and started following other celebrities who are for the movement.
Koreans are highly patriarchal. Women are expected to portray a role that society has set for them. In one variety show where a woman was showing off her cooking skills, a male host told the audience that “she will be able to get married.” The implication is that, for a woman to get married, she must be knowledgeable about household chores and everything that comes with being able to serve the husband. Now, not that it is a bad thing, but even women who are not “housewife-materials”—because they chose to work outside the comfort of one’s home— can get a man who will not be threatened with her paycheck.
Also, one of the reasons why society can’t accept the feminism movement in Korea is because of the people who claimed to be feminists, but they just hate men. These radical feminists ruin the reputation of what feminism is through their ways. From the radical perspective, they believe that there should be a reordering of the society to which male supremacy should be eliminated in all social and economic contexts. These women held rallies after rallies as an act of resistance from male oppression.
It is not a surprise that this issue is gaining public interest. Recently, it was a big deal in Korea when K-pop stars are part of the proliferation of illegally acquired footage of females doing sexual acts. These women took upon their hands to rally against molka—the trend where men secretly take videos of women and later upload it on pornographic websites. Huge stars were involved in the controversy to which their reputation and status are the cost.
Discrimination is everywhere, especially in a predominantly-patriarchal society. This is a concept that is not new to everybody. However, it should be noted that as time progress and modernize, women are capable of doing things that society dictates that only men could. Girls can do anything. (Liane Zosa)