Synopsis: Geu-rae is uneasy when Oh chooses a risky project at a team meeting. Young-yi is ordered to get approval for a project that Finance already rejected.

A deep and dark side of working in a Korean office has shown in Episode 7. A tough lesson has to be learned for all the interns in One International. Sometimes hard work is not enough. To make hard work become acknowledged and get along with higher levels are necessary in a workplace. In South Korean society, authority is traditionally concentrated at the higher levels in the hierarchy and authoritarian styles are generally accepted (Chen 2004). Limitations are set by the hierarchy of the company and how much power you have.

As a senior manager, when Sales Team 3 reports a risky project to him, Mr. Kim orders manager Mr. Oh to take his name off of the report. He tries to wipe his hands clean and doesn’t want to get in any trouble if the project fails. After Mr. Oh finds a new way to make the project more realistic, both Sales Team 2 and the executive director want to take Mr. Oh’s idea and grabs this project. Everyone realizes it is a good project and will get an outstanding achievement only after Sales Team 3 have made a huge effort on that. Not only the senior manager but also the executive director tries to take subordinates’ good work as their own. In the end, Mr. Oh and Dong-shik have to swallow their disappointment and sadness. According to Kim (2007, 23), compared with the Chinese and Japanese, Koreans are more likely to use a more compromising style in solving interpersonal conflict with their supervisors. Subordinates are less likely to contradict their superior in public. 

This deep side of hierarchy in the workplace has been revealed in this episode. South Korea is a country with high power distance and hierarchy (Lee 2012, 184). People or groups are ranked one above the other according to status, authority and job titles. Just like when we talk about the Korean government, it has different levels—president, prime minister and minister for each kind of subjects. Hierarchy helps a system to manage well and classifies things according to relative importance. However, this rigid hierarchy in Korea leads to unfairness and a lot of bullying at all levels. Pressure and obstructs brought by the superiors make for a much more challenging and ineffective working environment.

In Episode 7, Young-yi is ordered to get approval for a project that the Finance Team already rejected. From the show, we can see that Young-yi’s manage often yells at her, throws the papers in her face and gives her assignments which he even doesn’t how to deal with. After Young-yi finishes her project, her manage gets annoyed because she actually pulled this off. It is irritating to see her team has some misogynists who fear that she might actually be competent. Even though they are in the same group, the managers won’t help her and even try to make her life tough. This working environment is depressing and ineffective which made by these “high levels” who behave arrogant and jealous facing a capable newbie. Managers are fighting for their own achievement and fighting for write which one’s name on her report to get the credit rather than working together to achieve the goal.

On the contrary, Mr. Oh acts so different with his rest coworkers. Mr. Oh tried to push a grade-B product rather than a safe grade-A one regardless of the risks. He believes B will bring in more profit even though the grade-A product is more stable. “A salary man has nothing besides paychecks and promotions.” Many of the Korean workers in the office would do anything to keep their jobs and be promoted. But that’s not the case for Mr. Oh. He approaches his salaryman life with passion, loyalty, and sincerity. These choices may give him a low achievement but he proceeds without hesitation. He thinks salesman as a romantic dream and put lots of care and effort into it. It is a wasted talent if upper-management doesn’t recognise its value and they even put more pressure on him. Viewers feel pathetic to see a company which is not with one heart.

One of the reasons why Korea attaches importance to hierarchy is due to their history. Confucianism influences South Korean society very much in many different ways, such as the status, social contacts, relationships with others, etc. (Lee 2012, 184). Korean management style is quite different from that in the United States or other many Western countries, which has lower power distance. This K-Type management consists of top down decision-making, paternalistic leadership, personal loyalty and high mobility of workers (Lee 2012, 184). The organization structure of companies are highly centralized and formalized with authority concentrated in senior levels. The power is distributed unequally and represents the inequality in Korean company (Lee 2014, 33).

Through reflection of this episode, we see the oppression from superiors under different stories. This tough Korean hierarchy culture is a unique and species lesson to teach youngsters to show the respect to people who older than them and who have higher level. This episode also makes us think whether it is a good idea to keep this company hierarchy. True respect and deference need to be earned through wise actions and admirable behaviour, not simply given based on a person’s age or position. A harmonious environment is needed for people to keep a good mood and do effective works.

Question:

Mr. Oh has kept his passion and loyalty to his job for many years. Is this passion unnecessary in such an infighting company?

What are some other reasons that Koreans think hierarchy in a company is so important? What are the differences between western companies and Korean companies in this aspect?

Photos are screenshots from the drama, no copyright infringement is intended.

Bibliography:

Chen, Min. Asian Management Systems: Chinese, Japanese and Korean Styles of Business. Cengage Learning EMEA, 2004.

Lee, Choong Y. “Korean culture and its influence on business practice in South Korea.” The Journal of International Management Studies 7, no. 2 (2012): 184-191.

Lee, Choong Y., and Jennifer Y. Lee. “South Korean corporate culture and its lessons for building corporate culture in China.” The Journal of International Management Studies 9, no. 2 (2014): 33-42.

Kim, Tae-Yeol, Chongwei Wang, Mari Kondo, and Tae-Hyun Kim. “Conflict Management Styles: The Differences among the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans.” International Journal of Conflict Management 18, no. 1 (2007): 23-41.

Synopsis: Geu-rae continues his work as the new employee at One International, and is faced with a new task to sign a deal with a client, who is Manager Oh’s former high school classmate. A lot of hope goes down that the deal would be smooth sailing, until Manager Oh is made to wait and pay for an expensive dinner at a high-end club. During training, Geu-rae also learns a valuable lesson with Assistant Manager Park (IT Sales Team) to understand the politics of sealing a contract. 

                Establishing good business/work relations between companies, or colleagues within the workplace, is crucial in the long-term for customer loyalty and satisfaction that is not only limited in South Korea, but also globally. Thus, building strong work relations would help maintain partnerships for future developments and growth between companies or coworkers. Briefly, as evident in episode six of Misaeng 미생 (also called “An Incomplete Life” 아직 살아 있지 못한 자 ) (2014), the viewers can see the interactions made between Ahn Young Gi (Kang So Ra) and her team (who is being treated unfairly despite her qualifications as a capable employee); Manager Oh (Lee Sung Min) and Byun Hyeong Chul (Lee Doll Hyung) (who is being tossed around when trying to sign a contract due to past grudges); as well as Assistant Manager Park (Choi Gwi Hwa) and Yeong Seong Industries (who is seen being pushed around trying to settle the contract) (Wikipedia, accessed June 1, 2018; Asianwiki, accessed June 8, 2018). Throughout these scenes, gaining trust or respect with the potential customer and/or others, plays an important role in setting boundaries of where these partnerships will lead – for the better, or worse. However, what goes beyond the degree of trust in business, lies in the question of status, which will be further discussed in this paper, in terms of where one stands in social hierarchy to gain respect from the other.

                Due to educational inflation and rapid increase of competition intensity in South Korean society, the demand for more individuals to strive and obtain higher educational status  increases, in hopes of attaining career success; thus, creates deep inequalities within society as the gap widens between the upper → middle → lower class status hierarchy (Kim and Choi 2015). This kind of inequality is highlighted briefly in the episode, as Ahn Young Yi – continues to face gender discrimination at work – gets injured while carrying wooden samples for her team and gets put down by her Assistant Manager Ha Sung Joon (Jun Suk Ho) due to her actions (Asianwiki, accessed June 8 2018). Viewers can sympathize with Ahn Young Yi’s character in this episode, since she has proven herself capable for this line of work – from previous episodes, e.g. tackling phone calls with her language skills – but her skills are often dismissed by her team based on her gender.

(Misaeng 2014: Ep. 6, time 11:06)

                As socio-economic pressures placed on the individuals continues to increase, the roles and expectations that South Korean society systemically perpetuates (ideological) frameworks such as race, gender, class, status, etc., heightens the cycle of added pressure on to the employees, who are looking to move up the social ladder, or those who are working to sustain the family (Kim and Choi 2015). This is shown within the episode as well: with Byung Hyeong Chul’s skepticism and looking down on Geu-rae’s qualifications; and Assistant Manager Park’s lack of confidence to stand firm and resolve the problem with Yeong Seong Industries, creates unnecessary havoc at the One International main office, if dealt with promptly. Due to these complex structures within the work environment, the unfair treatment employee’s face, such as “income inequality and inequality in opportunity” (Chi, Rhee, and Kwon 2013: 199), does not help with the current situation for Koreans, but creates a negative effect on trust and respect (Ibid., 2013).

               Added to this equation, the complexity of status within the social hierarchical structures that is intertwined by the traditional cultural etiquette and values (i.e. respecting elders, etc.), are reflected in the characters’ interactions in episode six (Yoon 2005). Viewers can see how both Manager Oh and Geu-rae, receive treatment from Byun Hyeong Chul, who repeatedly looks down on them: i.e. either by making them wait, or ‘jokingly’ make mean comments as Manager Oh tries to laugh it off and entertains him to avoid making a scene. While Geu-rae as the ‘new rookie,’ sits on the sidelines and watches Manager Oh get humiliated in front of him; viewers come to learn that Byung Hyeong Chul’s behaviour is caused by past grudges, and with his rise in power and social status – as the manager of his company – allows him to do so. In another incidence, Geu-rae comes supporting Assistant Manager Park’s involvement with Yeong Seong Industries, as viewers see him (Assistant Manager Park) struggle and get taken advantage of because of his failure to stand firm and resolve matters on his own hands.

(Misaeng 2014: Ep. 6, time 25:26)           

(Misaeng 2014: Ep. 6, time 33:58)

(Misaeng 2014: Ep. 6)

(Misaeng 2014: Ep. 6)

            These moments in the episode, greatly reflects the consciousness and the status differences of Korean contemporary culture through the use of language (either between colleagues or with higher up’s, etc.); and demonstrates the cultural importance and practice of communicative competence in work relationships – including relationships one makes with others – which distinguishes one’s status or position to another (Park and Kim 2017; Yoon 2005). Thus, these social values and views shapes Korean cultural values and norms, and conversely, creates status ambiguity that potentially impacts reciprocation of social or gift exchange between individuals when one’s dominance is indebted over another and challenged (Yoon 2005; Park and Kim 2017). The drama sends a message to the audience that office or company relationships are linked and joined by trust; but is also shaped by respect, and that work relationships are not always about business itself. Despite the fact that there may be disputes on either side, relationships are still maintained although incidents happened for a reason, and that it is important to predict, prevent and learn from similar situations to improve on them for the future.

(Misaeng 2014: Ep. 6, time 47:55)

Question(s):

• In the case of Korea, what can workers do to have their voices heard to the higher up’s to ensure better work equality and work trust, etc.? OR How can major companies ensure and better accommodate to worker’s needs (e.g. work or gender equality within the workplace, work safety, etc.)? (How can this be accomplished – yes/no?)  

• What do you make of Jang Baek Gi (Kang Ha Neul)’s character so far in the episode(s)? How does his attitude in ep. 6, hinder his development and growth within the company, compared to Geu-rae? 

** Photos are screenshots from the drama, no copyright infringement is intended **

Bibliography 

Chi, Eunju, Yangho Rhee, and Hyeok Yong Kwon. “Inequality and Political Trust in Korea.” Korea Observer 44, no. 2 (2003): 199-222.

Kim, Doo Hwan and Yool Choi. “The Irony of the Unchecked Growth of Higher Education in South Korea: Crystallization of Class Cleavages and Intensifying Status Competition.” Development and Society 44, no. 3 (2015): 435-463.

Misaeng 미생 (also called 아직 살아 있지 못한 자 “An Incomplete Life”). Directed by Kim Won Seok. South Korea: Number 3 Pictures/tvN, 2014. Streaming video. https://www.viki.com/tv/20812c-incomplete-life?locale=en.

Misaeng. Asianwiki. Accessed June 8, 2018. http://asianwiki.com/Misaeng

“Misaeng (TV Series).” Wikipedia. Accessed June 1, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misaeng_(TV_series)  

Park, Patrick S. and Yong-hak Kim. “Reciprocation Under Status Ambiguity: How Dominance Motives and Spread of Status Value Shape Gift Exchange.” Social Networks 48 (2017): 142-156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2016.08.004.

Yoon, Kyung-Joo. “Not Just Words: Korean Social Models and the Use of Honorifics.” Intercultural Pragmatics 1, no. 2 (2005): 189-210. https://doi.org/10.1515/iprg.2004.1.2.189.

Symnopsis: Geu-rae and Seok-yool stumble in their presentation speech but still impress in their engagement of ideas. A week later, Geu-rae waits for results.

The job market seems to be divided into 3 main categories: blue collar or physically labor intensive jobs, white collar or office jobs, and service jobs. In western nations, it seems that if you are making a good income, the job title does not seem to affect people’s self-esteem. However, in South Korea, there are strong societal perceptions on the occupation with people favoring white collar jobs (Kim et al. 2016, 227). A study found that there is an association between occupational classification and depression in Korea; where “blue collar and sales and service worker groups exhibit higher depression scores than their white collar counterparts, implying the importance of addressing these groups” (Kim et al. 2016, 227).White collar jobs seem to gain high status, as these jobs usually require degrees of higher education, and “in many economically advanced western societies, higher education has been transformed from an elite system to a mass system” (Kim and Choi 2015, 436-437). Even though decent jobs are not guaranteed with a higher education, due to the issue of educational inflation, this societal belief of status classification still exists (Kim and Choi 2015, 457).

In the drama, Misaeng, we can see the character, Seok-yool, struggle growing up under a blue collar supported family. Seok-yool’s father struggled working a low paying, labor intensive job, and as his coworkers threatened to strike, he could not get involved as big companies threaten to fire these men with families to support. Although he loved his father and is seen throughout the episode: preaching blue collar jobs by appreciating hard work and perseverance; there are flashbacks of him growing up, being mocked by his peers around him for having a father who doesn’t work in an office setting. This shows why some people in Korea feel ashamed for not being ‘accomplished’ in life by working service or blue collar jobs instead of working a white collar job. Seok-yool aims to make his father proud by following Korean society’s expectations of young men like himself, by rising in status by getting a white collar job while still appreciating and representing the blue collar workers.

the argument of which job is more important is found, when Geu-rae tries to sell his product to Seok-yool in the internship test: a slipper. Both ends of the industry are crucial to the other existing. Blue collar workers produce the good for the white collar workers to go sell, providing both a job. The drama sends a message to the audience; that office workers and blue collar workers are both needed to running Korea’s economy, and people must change their perceptions of occupational status stratification.

Questions:

How can we change Korea’s perceptions around white collar and blue collar jobs?

How can Korea get large companies to provide fair wages and enforce safety in labour intensive, factory jobs without the needs for strike and threats of job cuts?

Photos are screenshots from the drama, no copyright infringement is intended.

Works Cited:

Kim et al. “The impact of occupation according to income on depressive symptoms in South Korean individuals: Findings from the Korean Welfare Panel Study.”International Journal of Social Psychiatry 62, no. 3 (January 2016): 227-234.

Kim, Doo Hwan and Yool Choi. “The Irony of the Unchecked Growth of Higher Education in South Korea: Crystallization of Class Cleavages and Intensifying Status Competition.” Development and Society 44, no. 3 (2015): 435-463.

Kim, Won-seok, dir. Misaeng. Number 3 Pictures, 2014. https://www.netflix.com/watch/80165296?tctx=0%2C0%2C2ccd12e1-70d7-46d9-8aae-7ac139b241fa-124328052%2C%2C.

Synopsis: Although it has gotten better for Geu-rae, he still struggles to adjust to Korean office culture and coworkers. However, with much effort, he is getting approvals from his superior officer somewhat.  Also, he chooses his partner for upcoming project.

Education have been enlightening countless societies around the globe for centuries. For example, advanced knowledges from engineering fields trained so many to help revolutionize communications in general inventing various technologies including cellular phones and the Internet. What education provides inevitably improve human lives in numerous ways over the centuries. Consequently, seeing the wonders of education, human societies did not hesitate from increasing and expanding places where they can train their new generation. However, the expansion of education also has negative side effects. At this point, it is critical to note education creates inequality as Kim and Choi stress (2015).

In the drama, Misaeng, the main character, Jang Geu-rae, continues to suffer from his lack of education. His colleagues, although it has been somewhat better than the episodes 1 and 2, continue to look down on him and his ability and capabilities to work. Geu-rae is not someone his colleagues want to be partnered with. Moreover, the partner he did find constantly ignore Geu-rae’s attempt to communicate. As Kim and Choi suggest after democratization Korean government deregulated education (2015). Especially when education is commonly considered as an instrument which can provide crucial social mobility, Korean people “wanted elite schools and were ready to spend accumulated private assets for their children’s education according to Park, Byun and Kim (as cited in Kim and Choi 2015, 446). Some might argue that Geu-rae should have gotten his education like everyone else. However, getting education is not always easy for everyone. With the ever-growing desire for private tutoring to supplement education, people with higher income invest significantly more into private tutoring than people with lower income according to Kim and Lee (2010). In turn, the children who have parents with higher income are more likely to gain entrance to higher education since they would likely to have more money invested into their private tutoring. Consequently, with prestigious education, it would definitely be easier for the children of parents with higher income to get jobs and compete in Korean society. Especially in Gue-rae’s case, whose family could only afford a “cheap” suit, it is less likely that Gue-rae had gotten much investments from his parents for academic private tutoring. Even though it is known that Geu-rae demonstrated outstanding academic performance according to his mom, his lack of education alone is still more than enough to put him in a position in which he is continuously discriminated and looked down upon by his colleagues.

It is clear that the deregulation and expansion of education led Koreans to better living standard and much enlightenment. However, such advancement of education also created inequality among Koreans. It is more difficult for people who cannot afford private tutoring to get jobs in first place. In some miraculous cases in which these people do get jobs, they are further discriminated at their work. Consequently, such discrimination might interfere with their experience at work reducing their work efficiency and dissatisfaction possibly resulting in some serious career related consequences including not being able to succeed in promotion opportunities. Furthermore, with less income than those who were promoted due to failed promotion, people who are discriminated would invest less money for their children’s education and private tutor. It is clear at this point that the inequality would become generational. In this regard, education is instrumental in reproducing inequality in Korean society.

Question)

1. What would be something that Korean society could do to prevent education from creating inequality?
2. What can companies do to reduce such discrimination experienced by people like Geu-rae that we see in Misaeng?

Photos are screenshots from the drama, no copyright infringement is intended.

Works Cited

Kim, Doo Hwan, and Yool Choi. “The Irony of the Unchecked Growth of Higher Education in South Korea: Crystallization of Class Cleavages and Intensifying Status Competition.” Development and Society 44, no. 3 (December 2015): 435-463. Accessed May 31, 2018.

Kim, Sunwoong, and Ju-Ho Lee. “Private Tutoring and Demand for Education in South Korea.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 58, no. 2 (January 2010): 259-296. Accessed May 31, 2018. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/648186.