The Uses and Abuses of Human Resources: Sexism in Contemporary Korea

Abstract

With respect to the promotion of women`s rights, South Korea is widely regarded as lagging behind western countries by at least a few decades. Conventional wisdom holds that, as a result of the strong and lasting influence of Confucianism on Korean culture, sexual discrimination against women continues to pervade contemporary Korean society. This conventional wisdom has, in turn, spawned a burgeoning feminist movement that seeks to establish an egalitarian society in Korea through the promotion of women`s rights. In this paper I argue that, contrary to what conventional wisdom leads us to believe, the clearest and most objectionable forms of sexual discrimination in contemporary Korea discriminate against men rather than women. The establishment of an egalitarian society in Korea is indeed a noble aim, but the successful realization of that goal, I claim, depends crucially upon a correct understanding of the current abuses of human rights and human resources in Korean society.