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63 hold to form a female caricature. “The ‘bean paste girl’ is a type of woman who spends all her money on Starbucks and Gucci handbags, to the extent that she can’t afford to eat bean paste because she’s spending all her money on all these goods,” notes Turnbull. The expression emerged on the Internet in the 2000s from the Korean word doenjang, or soybean paste. It describes a vain woman addicted to luxury goods who would rather eat cheap meals, such as doenjang soup, so she can buy Starbucks coffees. In Korea, coffee is seen as an expensive commodity. The lyrics of Psy’s megahit “Gangnam Style” poke fun at this stereotype: “A classy girl who knows how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee.” “I don’t think it’s any coincidence that this caricature set up to be critiqued by everyone suddenly appeared when so many men were, and had good reason to be, genuinely resent- ful of what they saw as women increasing in financial power,” says Turnbull. Breaking the glass ceiling The government has addressed a variety of issues concerning today’s female workers and potential female workers, from interview pro- cesses, to lack of leadership roles, to stronger support for maternity leave. “The Park Geun-hye administration promised … 70 percent employment. And in order to achieve that, we have to increase the female employment rate from 53.5 (2012) to 61.9 percent by 2017,” Gender Equality and Fam- ily Minister Cho Yoon-sun said in March at a conference cohosted by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. President Park’s promise to raise the em- ployment participation rate to 70 percent by the end of her term requires a higher partici- pation from women, who are struggling to gain equal recognition in their careers and avoid discrimination in their daily lives. Despite laws protecting women, gen- der-based discrimination persists as the pa- triarchal nature of traditional values seeps heavily into corporate culture. In 2012, South Korea had the largest gender wage gap in the developed world, where women make 37.4 percent less than men in the same positions, according to the Gender Wage Gap Report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. They also face difficulty competing with men for certain jobs when employers assume, whether consciously or subconsciously, that they are the weaker sex. Hong Tae-young, the marketing intern, said she was pressured by her male peers from running for president of a club at work, even when there was no explicit rule regarding the restriction of women running. “When I was joining a presentation club last year, there was a rule that only boys could be involved in the working committee. (Manage- ment said) it was because men are physically stronger than women so that they could work longer days than women, but I thought it was totally sexual discrimination.” Kim In-young, 25, is a graduate of Ewha Womans University and currently works in lo- gistics at CJ Corporation. She said she was asked blatantly sexist questions during inter- views while job-hunting before she found her current position. “The question that made me uncomfortable was, ‘Can you really do this work competing with other male workers?’ I think that question means, ‘You seem too weak to be a member of this company and we prefer a strong man to endure hard work.’” As only 1 in 5 workers are female where Kim works, she believes her employers carry the stereotype that logistics is tough for women. Women’s endurance for the job is not the only concern employers are seemingly wary of. Roh Ye-jin, a teacher at a private elementary school, worries about the fate of her job if she were to get pregnant. “I heard from many of my friends that after getting married, it’s really hard to find a job because (employers) think they will get preg- nant and quit. So some of my friends don’t say they’re married,” says Roh. “For me, I got married while I was working, so I’m lucky. If I got pregnant on this temporary contract … maybe I could lose my job.” Such factors prohibit women from advancing in their careers to the point of affecting their personal decisions to start a family. According to 2013 data, South Korea has among the lowest birthrates in the world at 8.33 births per 1,000 people, or 1.19 children per wom- an. To combat this, the government encourag- es its citizens to get married and have children, even implementing Family Day to encourage procreation. But many women find it difficult to commit to having children, knowing of the financial burdens that lie ahead and that their career opportunities may dwindle. “I don’t understand the government,” says Roh. “They ask us to produce babies, but I cannot.” Lee believes women are treated well, but questions their treatment in a corporate set- ting. Although she is currently studying busi- ness in school, she explains that she has not worked long enough in a company to come face-to-face with such issues. “The welfare system has changed a lot but not everywhere, so for women who are high-achieving, they want to get promoted. But they’re always confronted with a wall that they can’t overcome, like a glass ceiling.” Roh Yon-hee, the private academy lecturer, was job hunting for six months in a string of unsuccessful interviews until she found her current job. “It is true that there is a tendency to think women who are over 27 may quit their job as soon as they get married or have a baby. And fully I understand the situation, as I also had a hard time looking for a job.” With issues like this, it is even more difficult for women to gain satisfaction in upward mo- bility, especially in obtaining leadership posi- tions. “In Korea, we have slightly more than 40 per- cent of female workers in the private sector. But we have only 1.7 percent of management in the private companies, female manage- ‘I don’t think it’s any coincidence that this caricature set up to be critiqued by everyone suddenly appeared when so many men were, and had good reason to be, genuinely resentful of what they saw as women increasing in financial power.’ James Turnbull, The Grand Narrative ‘I heard from many of my friends that after getting married, it’s really hard to find a job because (employers) think they will get pregnant and quit. So some of my friends don’t say they’re married.’ Roh Ye-jin, teacher