According to a recent study done by the Economist, South Korea ranks last on the issue on the working environment for women this is compared to the other 29 countries who are members of the “Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development” (OECD). This is based on each countries: educational attainment, labour-market attachment, pay, child-care costs, maternity and paternity rights, business-school applications and representation in senior jobs (such as managerial positions, company boards, and parliament). Unsurprisingly Korean managerial, company board, and parliament positions for women are among the lowest levels in the OECD countries. Coming way below the OECD average. This gender disparity is easily exhibited in the Korean Drama Misaeng, by just looking at who holds the top positions in the company, One International. For instance, in episode 4, Sun Ji-young is the only high ranking female present for the intern presentations. This at first made me think that she was the only high ranking female at One International. However, in episode 7 we are introduced to the only other high ranking female employee and that is the Finance Department Manager, Kim Sun-Joo. Their isn’t even a single female CEO present during team 3’s project proposal presentation in episode 13. This is a fairly accurate depiction of the power gap between men and women.

This gender disparity for senior jobs in Korea has been noted to have had a serious impact on ‘sexual harassment’ in the workplace. In fact, “according to the survey conducted by the Federation of Korean Trade Union, a conservative umbrella union here, eight out of 10 assailants were the boss of the victim, followed by co-workers and clients.” Many ‘sexual harassment’ offenders are those at the “pinnacle of industry hierarchies.” However, just being higher up than a female co-worker can encourage men to commit ‘sexual harassment.’ This is a systemic issue in Korea, not just a few individuals. As John Dalberg-Acton once said: “power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Men in Korea have had a long stretch of almost absolute power over women and only in the last couple of decades has real change occurred, that has given women more freedoms and rights. In this paper, I am going to talk about how Misaeng reveals that ‘sexual harassment’ in the workplace is caused by gender disparity, specifically in high positions within Korean companies. As a lack of representation from women in higher sectors, forces women in lower ranking positions to remain passive towards acts of discrimination. This is especially the case, as Korean society is largely patriarchal in nature. And many Korean men still hold on to this gendered-status power gap. Most importantly, this paper will connect both the fictionalized issues shown in Misaeng with real events and issues dealt within Korean society on ‘sexual harassment.’

In Misaeng, the worst offender for abusing their power over female employees is, Department Head Ma Bok-ryul. A year before the drama’s storyline even began, Department Head Ma already had a record of sexually harassing a female employee. This resulted in him being brought up on charges and getting a three month pay cut. However, even though he has paid a penalty for his actions, he still hasn’t changed his attitude towards women. In fact, he might have gotten worse. This may be due to the fact that he has maintained his position as Department Head, a position that gives him authority over many women who work at One International. Department Head Ma has used his power over Ahn Young-yi, on numerous occasions, for example he ordered her to reject her own proposal that had been approved by headquarters, in order to get a promotion for himself. He has stopped her from leading meetings for projects that she had been in charge of and had already done the work for. He constantly blames her (or women in general) for any failings that occur in the resource team, even when it was another co-workers fault or was outside of her control. Not because she is incompetent but because she is a woman.

This isn’t just something that only happens in k-dramaland but also in real life. Though Misaeng is a work of fiction, often its plot payed tribute to real events or issues faced in Korea at the time. Most notably, in episode 14 of Misaeng, two conversations between Ahn Young-yi and Department Head Ma Bok-ryul seem to be alluding to an actual case of sexual harassment that occurred in South Korea. The case in question took place on Thursday, September 11, 2014 between seventy-six year old National Assembly Speaker, Park Hee-tae and a twenty three year old female caddie, while playing a round of golf. The caddie claimed that Park made inappropriate physical contact with her; which resulted in her requesting to be replaced and substituted with a male caddie. Later, Park even partially admitted to his behaviour by saying that he “poked her on the breast once.” However, he claimed ignorance to the effect he had on the caddie stating that “she didn’t express displeasure at the time.” And that his intentions were non-licentious in nature, as “he has granddaughters and that when he meets women of a similar age, he shows them affection and tells them they are pretty.” He also gave unsolicited advice that she should “beware of men because she was beautiful.”

One of the conversations that alludes to this event in Misaeng, happens while discussing a future work-related golf trip between Department Head Ma and the director of Samjung. While Young-yi is going over details, Department Head Ma interrupts with a crass remark that all they need are “pretty caddies.” In reply, Young-yi informs him that she requested male caddies because the purpose of golfing was business. Department Head Ma then changes the subject to Young-yi’s personal life. Making comments on her relationship with Shin Woo-hyun from Samjung and questioning her behaviour.This conversation is an obvious reference to the sexual harassment incident mentioned above; which is later echoed in the next confrontation between Young-yi and Department Head Ma. The encounter begins with Department Head Ma walking in on Young-yi talking with Jang Baek-Ki. He then goes off on her, questioning her behaviour towards him and other men. Even implying that her actions are indecent and may be perceived as promiscuous. He ends his rant with the statement, “I’m worried about you because you’re like my daughter.” When Young-yi questions that statement, Department Head Ma gets defensive and says “Are you accusing me of sexual harassment?” And attempts to throw coffee at her. The key details that connect the two conversation’s in Misaeng and the Park Hee-tae sexual harassment incident are Department Head Ma’s remarks on the appearance of the caddies, his imagined correlation between his treatment and words to Young-yi with that of a daughter, his gratuitous advice on behaviour towards men and lastly Young-yi’s action of setting up male caddies instead of female ones. For those reasons, both the real interactions between  Park Hee-tae and the female caddie and the fictional interactions between Department Head Ma and Ahn Young-yi are prime examples of cases where someone in a powerful position, abuses said power, resulting in the ‘sexual harassment’ of a woman at work.

Another person Department Head Ma clashes with often is Deputy Department Head, Sun Ji-young. She is truly a role model for working mothers. She manages to balance having a daughter as well as being one of the highest level female employee in the company. However, her status does not protect her from Department Head Ma’s crude words and disrespect.Which also makes her proof that even women in powerful positions are often harassed by male co-workers. For example he once during an argument told her: “I’ve been lenient with you because you’re a woman. Hey, you should be grateful to your husband who can bear with living with someone like you.”But Sun Ji-young doesn’t take his words lying down and usually has a well thought out comment to put him in his place. Like when she cooly replied back to him that: “with two cases of sexual harassment, you wouldn’t just end up with pay cut.” Though she doesn’t have as much power as Department Head Ma, Sun Ji-young still can fight back which is something Ahn Young-yi really can’t do. However if their were more women in higher positions, it might make it easier to protect lower level employees from people like Department Head Ma.

However to do this, you would need to change the mindset of many Koreans, especially on what is considered appropriate behaviour towards women. This would be a challenge as Korea is a largely patriarchal society—meaning men have a lot more status and power than women. And this is something that can be easily abused by even the most well-meaning men or harmless looking men. For instance, Han Seok-yul is one of the more lovable characters of Misaeng, largely because of his flamboyant personality, strong work ethic, incredible skills as resident gossip, and enduring will to fight for injustices. His constant dramatics allow him a key role as comic relief for the often dreary workplace environment of One International. However he has his flaws as he can be kind of a suck up, a little too nosy, and sometimes annoying to fellow co-workers. His love of fabric and women along with his lack of respect for the boundaries of others, has often gotten him into trouble. Most notably, in episode 3, when Seok-yul harasses an unnamed female employee at a fabric factory. The situation starts with Seok-yul briskly walking behind the female employee. He then grabs her arm and asks to touch the material of her skirt; but he doesn’t wait for a reply and instead gropes her behind. She then slaps him in the face and tries to walk away; but he repeats his action of grabbing her arm and asking for permission to touch her skirt. This time she doesn’t hesitate and slaps him again, managing to get away in the process. Yet, as serious as this incident is, the scene is presented as comical. Making in my opinion, a sort of mockery of sexual harassment.

I found this scene reflective of educational videos, released after the 1999 legislation on ‘sexual harassment,’ that Lee Sung-eun described in his article. Apparently, they were 20 minute long videos made by the Ministry of Labour, which “superficially descib[ed] the types of sexual harassment, such as verbal and physical abuse.” In fact, the videos seemed “to make light of sexual harassment as comprising humorous and inconsequential incidents in the workplace.” This mindset seemed to be encouraged, as the characters in the video were played by comedians. This use of comedy to discuss such a crucial issue in Korean society doesn’t send the right message to viewers. Instead, it promotes people to adopt a humorous or blasé attitude towards it, undermining the videos purpose. This is attitude seems to have been mimicked in Misaeng which as a whole seems to promote the equality of women, yet the scene with Seok-yul seems to sabotage that message.

Whether the current attitude of men in Korea has any connection with the failed content of the Korean government’s early attempt at ‘sexual harassment’ education videos, is unknown. However, it is clear that ‘sexual harassment’ can be a source of humour for men, as shown in episode 10 of Misaeng, when Park Jong-sik and Sung Joon-sik enjoy making the women in the break room uncomfortable with their sexual comments towards them. The situation goes began when Park Jong-sik and Sung Joon-sik arrive in the break room with their coffee. Park Jong-sik notices three female co-workers including Shin Da-in, a member of the steel team. Park Jong-sik makes a comment that in his opinion “coffee served by women tastes the best.” Sung Joon-sik indifferently warns Park Jong-sik that “these days your comments can get you in trouble.” However, Park Jong-sik doesn’t head his warning and instead asks Shin Da-in to make him another coffee for him, which she does even though the other women and her look very uncomfortable. Park Jong-sik then leers at Shin Da-in while her back is turned and makes a comment to Sung Joon-sik about her body. When the women turn and look at him offended, Park Jong-shik picks up a magazine with a picture of a car and says that he was talking about the car. With this excuse the women can’t directly tell them to stop. This encourages Park Jong-shik to continue making various innuendos about Shin Da-in, in context of the cars from the magazine. Sung Joon-sik finds this amusing and begins to chuckle; this incites Park Jong-shik and he gains more confidence and becoming more brazen with his words. At the time they got away with it by not overtly referencing the women in the room, however when Park Jong-sik gets confronted by his boss Oh Sang-shik for the incident he simply brushes his reprimand off— by laughing.

Sexual comments or jokes, like the ones I mentioned above, are some of the most common forms of ‘sexual harassment’ in the Korean workplace. Women are also more likely to take a passive resolution to this form of discrimination, by simply “suppress[ing] their anger and ke[eping] silent.” However, I think this kind of ‘harassment’ needs a more active response. I think the best solution was summed up by one of the women, Lee Sung-eun interviewed in his article that:“If I respond to sexual jokes lightly, they think it is funny. Therefore, we need to respond to their behaviour directly. After all, I need to inform them that I do not want to listen to their jokes. If we hush up the action, we fall into a trap ourselves.” It is only when women stand up for themselves, like the current #metoo movement going on in Korea that things change. Because the truth is ‘sexual harassment’ is no joke. And I think Korean Society is starting to learn this. But in order to do this their needs to be a growth in the number of women in high positioning jobs like managerial positions, company boards, and parliament. As without representation, women are left vulnerable to old patriarchal expectations and suffer being taken advantage of by fellow male employees in higher positions.

Bibliography:

Bicker, Laura. “#MeToo movement takes hold in South Korea.”BBC News, March 26, 2018, World (Asia) Section. (Accessed: June 28, 2018)

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43534074

Chung, Catherine. “Middle school teacher probed over sexual violence claims.”The Korea Herald, March 14, 2018, National Section. (Accessed: June 28, 2018)

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20180314000897

Chung-un, Cho. “#MeToo spreads to business sphere, partially.” The Korea Herald, March 6, 2018, Business Section. (Accessed: June 28, 2018)

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20180306000703

Doo, Rumy. “Korea’s Gender Ministry to monitor news reports on #MeToo.”The Korea Herald, March 28, 2018, National Section. (Accessed: June 28, 2018)

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20180328000628

“[Foreign Correspondents] Ep.76 – South Korea’s #MeToo Movement _ Full Episode.” hosted by Seo Misorang, featuring Elise Hu and Frank Smith and Koichi Yonemura, published on March 5, 2018, ARIRANG TV, Youtube. [25:12 min total] (Accessed: June 28, 2018)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb9vy8No–A

“Former South Korea presidential hopeful Ahn Hee Jung denies rape.”The Straits Times, March 19, 2018, East Asia Section. (Accessed: June 28, 2018)

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/former-south-korea-presidential-hopeful-ahn-hee-jung-denies-rape

He-rim, Jo. “Wife of Lawmaker accused of sexual misconduct under fire for supporting husband.”The Korea Herald, March 11, 2018, National Section. (Accessed: June 28, 2018)

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20180311000158

Hyun-bin, Kim. “Gov’t to conduct ‘Me Too’ survey in colleges nationwide.”The Korea Times, March 23, 2018, Education Section. (Accessed: June 28, 2018)

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/03/181_246113.html

Jumabhoy, Fatim and Lee, Lauren. “South Korea: Tough New Sexual Harassment Amendments Enacted.” HRnews, June 1, 2018, Employment Law section. (Accessed: June 28, 2018)

https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/pages/global-south-korea-metoo.aspx

Kwang Taek, Lee. “The Legal Institution of Korea for Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Work as a Sex Discrimination.” Kookmin Law Review 25, no. 3 (2013): 271-308.

Min-ho, Jung. “UN urges Korea to protect #MeToo accusers.”The Korea Times, March 13, 2018, Politics Section. (Accessed: June 28, 2018)

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/03/356_245548.html

Misaeng 미생 (also known as: 아직 살아 있지 못한 자 “An Incomplete Life”). Directed by Kim Won-seok. 2014; South Korea: Number 3 Pictures, TV Drama. Netflix.

Privey, Alice. “#MeToo: South Korea’s Social Revolution.”Institute for Security & Development Policy, June 20, 2018. (Accessed: June 28, 2018)

http://isdp.eu/metoo-south-koreas-social-revolution/

Rahn, Kim. “Ex-assembly speaker accused of sexually harassing caddie,”The Korea Times, September 14, 2014, National Section. (Accessed: June 28, 2018)

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2014/09/116_164532.html

R.H., Lee, “Korea said #MeToo. Here’s how it’s different.,”The Dissolve, April 17, 2018, Gender, Society Section. (Accessed: June 28, 2018)

http://thedissolve.kr/korea-said-metoo-heres-how-its-different/?ckattempt=2

Sang-hun, Chloe. “A Director’s Apology Adds Momentum to South Korea’s #MeToo Movement.”The New York Times, February 19, 2018, Asia-Pacific Section. (Accessed: June 28, 2018)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/19/world/asia/south-korea-metoo-lee-youan-taek.html

Sung-Eun, Lee. “Practical Strategies Against Sexual Harassment in Korea.”Asian Journal of Women’s Studies 10, no. 4 (2004): 7-30.

Tong-hyung, Kim. “‘Yoon Chang-jung: the aide who grabbed me.’”The Korea Times, May 14, 2013, Culture Section. (Accessed: June 28, 2018)

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https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2017/03/08/the-best-and-worst-places-to-be-a-working-woman

Yonhap. “As ‘Me Too’ sweeps Korea, conspicuous silence within K-pop.” The Korea Herald, March 7, 2018, Life & Style Section. (Accessed: June 28, 2018)

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20180307000240

Synopsis:

[episode 16] Geu-rae, Young-yi and Baek-ki have worked hard to submit their own business proposals. However, office politics threatens all their hard work. Meanwhile, Seok-yul deals with a conflict between factory workers and his boss, Assistant Manager Sung Joon-sik.

[episode 17] Sun Ji-young is working overtime on a difficult project, without the support of her subordinates. This causes her to collapse. Oh Sang-sik comes to her aid, along with Geu-rae, Young-yi, Seok-yul, and Baek-ki, in order to help her finish her project. Meanwhile, Kim Dong-sik defends his choice, in working for Oh Sang-sik (despite the risk of never being promoted), against his work peers.

There are many ramifications for countriesthat overwork its citizens with inhumanely long hours. According to various sources, South Koreans (hereafter Koreans) who are overworked tend to suffer from various social ills such as: workplace bullying, low productivity, high industrial accident rates, low birth rate, etc. They are also many at risk for health issues including mental illness. This has resulted in high suicide rates and ‘kwarosa.’‘Kwarosa’ (과로사) is the term for the phenomenon in Korea where employees are ‘overworked to death.’ Victims of ‘kwarosa’ often suffer “from overwork-induced heart attacks, strokes and mental illness”(Bentley, 2013).

According to the results of the 2016 OECD (The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) survey, Korea ranks second for largest average of hours worked annually, just behind Mexico. In this paper, I will look into the practice of ‘overwork’ in Korean society and how it is represented in episode 16 and 17 of Misaeng.

As mentioned above, there are lots of negative affects of overwork. Yet even, Oh Sang-shik, whom is portrayed as the moral compass of One International, made the comment to a hospitalized Sun Ji-young that she should “get rest and work twice as hard when [shes] out.”(Misaeng, 46:17)To me, this demonstrates how ingrained the practice of overwork is in Korean society. Which raises the question: ‘Why do Koreans continue to overwork themselves?’ 

One of the major reasons is Korea’s history. After the Korean War (1950-1953), Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. However, after the implementation of some extreme economicpolicies by Korean President Park Chung-Hee (1917-1979) and the hard work of many Koreans,the economy grew. During this time, working long hours was glorified by the government and was seen as the right course to economic success. 

One of the ways Koreans made moneyat thetime was by sending workers to other countries for cheap labour. Thats why in 1964, President Park Chung-Hee visited Korean workers in Germany, and was quoted to have said:

“Although we are undergoing this trying time, we are not supposed to pass poverty onto our descendants. We must do our part to end poverty in Korea so that the next generation doesn’t experience what we are going through now.” (Kang, 2013)

His words are quite representative of the opinions of the majority of Koreans, at the time. Today, these selfless actions by Korean workers, has had a deep rooted affect on the Korean psyche. Especially because their actions proved fruitful. As according to the World Bank, Korea’s GDP (gross domestic product) went from 3,957.87 million in 1960 to 1,411,245.59 trillion in 2016. The obvious success shown by Korea’s massive change in GDP proves to many Koreans that overwork is the right path to success.

Another major reason for Korea’s resistance against limiting work hours, is Korea’s ingrained hierarchal system. Even though Korean workers have a set work schedule it often becomes irrelevant, as it is seen as inappropriate to leave before your superiors. Therefore, if your boss is working late, you are working late. Even if you have finished your work. An example of this, appears in an article in Korea Joongang Daily, when a 35 year old employee of an engineering company in Seoul said that: 

“One day I ran across a high-ranking official in the elevator on my way home. He asked me why I was leaving the office early. He made me speechless because it was ten past 6—40 minutes past official working hours.” (Sung, 2010)

This just showcases that those who go against this practice of hierarchal respect are frowned upon in Korea. Often, employees use this ‘custom’ of staying long hours to impress management in order to receive a promotion.

And finally Korean companies worry that changing the practice of overwork, will effect their bottom line. Specifically it will result in, them losing money in order to keep up with regular production rates. This belief is validated by the popular myth that overwork increases production. Which some studies have stated is only true for short periods of time and that actually, extended long working hours creates lower productivity. Yet some businesses still buy into the myth, and fear low productivity. This fear is than shared with the Korean government as they do not want to risk angering company owners and cause economic ruin for Korea.

Those that suffer the most from the negative effects of overwork are usually postal workers, working mothers, and industrial workers. According to the Korean Times, postal workers, on average work “48.7 hours a week —8.7 hours more than the national standard.”(Ko Dong-hwan) Yet, Korean Postal Workers’ Union chief Kim Ayung-hwan questioned the figure’s credibility. With help from a Korea Labor Institute survey, he argued that the employees actually worked more than 55.1 hours a week.”(Ko, 2017). These hours have lead to an alarming number of ‘kwarosa’ for postal workers. For instance, in 2017 Cho Man-sik, a 44 year old postal worker died from atherosclerosis caused by excessive work.

Women in Korea are traditionally in charge of housework and childcare. Even today women are expected to perform these duties, even if they have a job of their own. This causes great stress for working mothers. Which when added with the long working hours from their job can make women vulnerable to health risks like ‘kwarosa’ and suicide. One example of a mother suffering from ‘kwarosa’ occurred in January of 2017. An unnamed 34 year old working mother of three died of a heart attack. Apparently, she returned “from maternity leave only a week before her death [.], and immediately [began] working 12 hour days.” (France-Presse, 2017) In Misaeng, Sun Ji-young collapses on thehighway after putting in excessive hours on a difficult project. She was then hospitalized. In many ways, Sun Ji-young is quite lucky in the fact that exhaustion seems to have been the only consequence of her actions. And that she is able to continue working. Especially when you consider that, Sun Ji-young chooses to pullover to the side of the road when she notices she is falling asleep; instead of continuing to the office. Her actions saved her from a possibly fatal accident. However, in real life, it is common for people to ignore the danger of being overly tired when driving, resulting in serious road collisions. Thus, this scene illustrates one of the risks involved in overworking employees; as it can result in them performing unsafe workplace habits.

Though industrial workers in Korea are largely affected by long working hours there isn’t a lot of data. This is because companies have been covering up workplace accidents by pressuring employees to state that the accidents happened outside of work. Which causes Korea’s workplace accident statistics to have inaccurate data. However, Korean companies couldn’t cover-up the number of deaths at work. Which is a lot higher than other developed nations. This doesn’t necessarily mean that all workplace deaths have to do with the long working hours in Korea. But, I believe that it is a significant factor to these numbers. In Misaeng these exploitative working conditions are illustrated when Assistant Manager Sung Joon-sik angers textile factory workers by overworking them to produce a large order for the company. This is quite dangerous as they are working on dangerously old equipment with only 3 to 4 hours of sleep daily. The workers fear the consequences of continuing to perform in such bad conditions resulting in confrontations between them and Assistant Manager. This depiction paints a fairly dark look at the reality for industrial workers in Korea.

In reality, all Koreans are affected in some way by the long hours performed by workers all over the country. However, change is on the horizon. In July of this year, Korea will begin to implement a new law which cuts the maximum work hours to 52 a week from the current 68. Though, how effective this will be in Korea is unclear, only time will tell.

Questions:

Do you think that the new law, that cut the maximum weekly work hours from 68 to 52 will stop employees from overworking?

What else can the Korean government do to stop the exploitation of employees through overwork?

What did you think of Oh Sang-sik comment to Sun Ji-young suggesting that she “get rest and work twice as hard when [she’s] out”(46:17) after collapsing from overwork?

Bibliography:

Ko, Dong-hwan, “[K-Terminology] Koreans being overworked to death in ‘kwarosa,’”The Korean Times, February 27th 2017, Healthcare section.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2017/02/641_224791.html

(Accessed 06/20/2018)

Sung, So-young, “Efforts to end overwork not working,” Korea JoongAng Daily,

September 16th 2010.

http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2926109

(Accessed 06/20/2018)

Jeong, Eun-joo, “How S. Korea has a low industrial accident rate, alongside the highest death rate,” Hankyoreh, June 27 2016, Business section.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_business/749921.html

(Accessed 06/20/2018)

Bentley, Peter, “Benefit of longer working hours is just a myth,”The Daily Telegraph, March 6 2013.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/benefit-of-longer-working-hours-is-just-a-myth/news-story/3209254d6cf910984cb5f8fab75ac2f7?sv=4816ee19a2e58386fa296e8e50a2b2ab

(Accessed 06/20/2018)

Haas, Benjamin , “South Korea cuts ‘inhumanely long’ 68-hour working week,” The Guardian, March 1 2018.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/01/south-korea-cuts-inhumanely-long-68-hour-working-week

(Accessed 06/20/2018)

Smith, Nicola ,“Action demanded in South Korea over excessive overtime culture following producer suicide,” The Telegraph, April 25 2017.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/25/action-demanded-south-korea-excessive-overtime-culture-following/

(Accessed 06/20/2018)

Jangta, “Overwork culture proves hard to dismiss,” Yonhap News Agency, April 25 2013.

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/n_feature/2013/04/24/61/4901000000AEN20130424009700315F.HTML

(Accessed 06/20/2018)

France-Presse, Agence , “‘Working mum’s death shocks South Korea,’”The Strait Times, February 27 2017.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/working-mums-death-shocks-south-korea

(Accessed 06/20/2018)

Kang, Hyun-kyung, “’When Park spoke, everybody cried,’” The Korean Times, December 8 2013.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2013/12/116_147609.html

(Accessed 06/20/2018)

CNN, “Warnings about overwork in South Korea,” Youtube, July 23 2015. video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYU02UPinQk

(Accessed 06/20/2018)

OECD (2018), GDP per hour worked (indicator). doi: 10.1787/1439e590-en (Accessed on 21 June 2018)

https://data.oecd.org/lprdty/gdp-per-hour-worked.htm

(Accessed 06/20/2018)

World Bank, “GDP (US$) 1960-2017.”

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations=KR&view=chart

(Accessed 06/20/2018)

Misaeng 미생 (also known as: 아직 살아 있지 못한 자 “An Incomplete Life”). Directed by Kim Won Seok. South Korea: Number 3 Pictures, 2014. Netflix.

Yoon, Chang-Gyo, Kyu-Jung Bae, Mo-Yeol Kang, and Jin-Ha Yoon. “Is Suicidal Ideation Linked to Working Hours and Shift Work in Korea?” Journal of Occupational Health 57, no. 3 (2015): 222-229.

Synopsis:

 A ‘missing’ B/L statement causes problems between sales team three and the resource department. The rising tension results in a revolution of past actions of sales team three’s manager, Oh Sanshik and the Department Head of the Resource Department, Ma Bok-ryul.

In October 2017, after allegations came out that former American movie producer, Harvey Weinstein, abused his position of power and sexually assaulted and harassed numerous women, the #metoo movement was born. Women began to speak out about their own experiences; forming a dialogue that slowly began to make impact all over the world. In South Korea, the #metoo movement gained traction in February of 2018. Seo Ji-hyeon, a prosecutor at the Tongyang Branch of the Changwon District Prosecutors’ Office, told her own story of sexual assault by former prosecutor and high level ministry worker, Ahn Tae-geun. Similar to America, this one woman’s words sparked other woman in Korea to come out and tell their own stories. Thus reinforcing, that workplace sexual harassment and assault is a serious issue that needs to be universally addressed. 

Though Misaeng came out before the #metoo movement, its representation of the treatment of women in the workplace resonates with many of the stories revealed. In this paper, I am going to talk about how Misaeng in episode 5 reveals the challenges woman face in the workforce. Specifically, in regards to sexual harassment.

In episode 5, Ma Bok-ryul, the Head of the Resource Department, is revealed to have, just last year, sexually harassed an employee. Apparently, “the woman’s club brought up charges, and he got a three month pay cut” [time: 37:58-37:36]. However, despite being reprimanded for his actions, Ma Bok-ryul doesn’t seem to believe he has done anything wrong. In fact, he defends himself by arguing that it was then’s fault; saying that “the one who wore the plunging neckline is at fault” [time: 40:28-38:57]. He even complained saying that: “It’s also sexual harassment to ask for coffee. Worrying about them not being able to get married is sexual harassment. I can’t live with all of these provocative women!” [time:40:28-38:57] Ma Bok-ryul’s excuses are fairly typical responses to allegations of sexual harassment. In fact Vogue (now you know its universally known), did an article called “11 of The Most Ridiculously Bogus Excuses People Make for Sexual Harassment and Abuse” which had at number one “Women ask for it in how they dress” and number 11 “Ugh, can’t guys say anything anymore? What’s next—we’ll be arrested for complimenting our female colleagues’ haircuts?”

In many ways, Ma Bok-ryul represents the fundamental issue with sexual harassment at work. Since, he promotes bad conduct towards woman by constantly berating and blaming female employees in front of co-workers. His actions are then interpreted as encouragements for other employees to act, in a similar fashion, in order to gain his approval. Besides encouraging his employees to act despicably, Ma Bok-ryul is also in a position to make it harder for victims to speak out against him. As they may fear repercussions such as: employment termination, being accused of lying, the offender getting away with it or the offender simply being given a minor reprimand. In Ma Bok-ryul’s case it was the latter one. By having little consequences for his actions it seems that Ma Bok-ryul didn’t learn his lesson. And in fact, doesn’t believe himself in the wrong.

Though it may have been overdramatized the underlying message in Misaeng is clear, the mistreatment of women in the workforce is a real concern. Men like Ma Bok-ryul with power over woman make working a greater challenge than it should be. And now with the #metoo movement, no one can say that this only happens in k-dramas.

Questions:

What can South Koreans do to improve the treatment of women in the workplace? What can women do to help?

What should be the consequences for work place sexual harassment? Who should decide?

Woman getting pregnant was a matter that created more animosity towards working women. What can South Korea do to put less pressure on women to choose between being a career and having a family (instead of doing both)?

Bibliography:

       Misaeng 미생 (also known as: 아직 살아 있지 못한 자 “An Incomplete Life”). Directed by Kim Won Seok. South Korea: Number 3 Pictures, 2014. Netflix.

       11 of The Most Ridiculously Bogus Excuses People Make for Sexual Harassment and Abuse. Vogue. Accessed June 10, 2018.

https://www.vogue.com/article/the-worst-excuses-for-sexual-harassment-and-assault

       Me Too movement. Wikipedia. Accessed June 10, 2018.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_Too_movement