Gender Inequality in South Korea: Rationalization through the Lens of System Justification Theory

By Peter Machielse August 2011

1 Introduction The South Korean labor market is characterized by a huge gender inequality (Rudolf & Cho, 2011). South Korea like other Confucian countries in Asia is a country where the role of woman in society is marginal. Economic development has improved South Korea socially and politically regarding gender equitable opportunities, but this has not translated fully into employment and family structure (Chun, Khang, Kim & Cho, 2008). This paper primarily focuses on the gender inequality in South Korea. As Lee (2009) shows us, a wide palette of statistics that woman inequality is still present in South Korea. Although little progress is made, the inequality is still lacking behind compared to many western countries (Gaye, Klugman, Kovacevic, Twigg & Zambrano, 2010). The IMF reforms due to the financial crisis during the end of the 90s forced South Korea to dismantle their permanent employment system which ensured man as main breadwinner (Kim & Voos, 2007) and modernized East Asian countries like Japan and South Korea also woman found their ways to the universities but even when they are equally skilled, they are faced with their traditional roles (Cong, 2008). When discussing gender inequality, statistical obstacles arise. The different methodologies show different results, scholars disagree and therefore it is hard to rely on a single method (Gaye, et al 2010). South Korea is ranked as number 20 in the Gender Inequality Index 1, but is ranked as 104 in the Global Gender Gap.2 Because of the wide range of ratings, results are discussed in the media and as a result the value of surveys and methods will decrease. 3 However this paper shows the main results that can be drawn from the different indexes.

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UN Human Developement Report 2010 Gender Inequality Index The Global Gender Gap Index 2010 rankings: Comparisons with 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006 3 http://thegrandnarrative.com/2011/03/31/korea-gender-empowerment-measure/

Although the problems of measuring gender inequality are covered in this paper, a full discussion is beyond the scope of this text. This text rather focuses on the way the social problems are justified by the system that caused them. Social justification theory is rooted in cognitive dissonance theory and focuses on the way the society is rationalizing social problems. Gender inequality is not a new phenomenon in South Korea. Rooted in NeoConfucian thought, gender inequality has been common for years. Since the 70s and especially after the democratization during the 90s organized attempts were made to fight for gender equality (e.g. family law that was finally accepted in 2005) (Nam, 2010). This research does not utilize empirical data generated by the researcher. It rather suggests explanation from different sources that give support to the way that social problems are justified in the system. Therefore the central question in this paper is formulated as followed: What are the main arguments that rationalize gender inequality South Korea?

2 Theoretical backgrounds Before elaborating on the theoretical background of this paper we need a definition of a social issue itself. Eitzens (2009) provides us the following definition of a social problem: Social problems are societal induced conditions that harms any segment of the population. Social problems are also related to acts and conditions that violate the norms and values found in society. This definition shows us that we are talking about a social problem when it harms a segment of the society. In the case of gender inequality on the South Korean labor market we can see that the monthly average wages between male and female are wide (Rudolf & Cho, 2011). The average monthly wage of a female is only 63 % of a male wage, which can be seen as

material harm (Lee, 2009). Although the perception and amount of harm experienced by gender inequality can differ among European and East Asian woman, gender inequality in general has a negative effect on the psychological well being of woman (psychological harm) (Kinias & Kim, 2011). Therefore it can be argued that gender inequality can be considered as a social problem. 2.1 System Justification Theory According to Jost and Hunyady (2002) system justification theory is most influenced by cognitive dissonance theory. Cognitive dissonance is described by Festinger (1957) as a misbalance between an actorss believes and the way the person acts. People try to rationalize their behavior in order to overcome the misbalance. Therefore two hypotheses were made. First, the existence of dissonance, being psychologically uncomfortable, will motivate the person to try to reduce the dissonance and achieve consonance. Second, when dissonance is present, in addition to trying to reduce it, the person will actively avoid situations and information, which would likely increase the consonance (Festinger, 1957 p 3). Although the system justification theory is influence by cognitive dissonance theory, three main differences can be catalyzed. First, cognitive dissonance theory is often regarded as an ego justice theory and will rather emphasize the individual. Second, is that the cognitive dissonance theory assumes that people should be personal responsible in order to justify it. Third, cognitive dissonance theory stresses cognitive consistency (Jost & Hunyady, 2002). Three main justification tendencies or motives can be distinguished that can conflict that can conflict or contradict for members of disadvantaged groups: ego justification, group justification and system justification (Jost & Banaji, 1994). First, ego justification maintains a good self image and makes people feel valid, justified and legitimate as an individual. Second, group justification focuses on social identity theory and arising from this the development and

maintenance of ones group and justify the behavior of its members. Third, system justification concerns social and psychological needs to keep the status quo with legitimacy and consider it as good, fair, natural, desirable and inevitable (Jost, Banaji & Nosek, 2004). In most capitalistic countries wide gap of economic and social inequalities exist. Even though the capitalist thought is spreading across the globe, capitalist countries dont suffer from a lack of legitimacy or instability (Jost & Hunyady, 2002). According to Jost & Hunyady (2002) scholars mention the role of ideology as justifier of the system. Social scientists typically point to the role of ideology in maintaining popular support for the system by explaining, justifying, and rationalizing inequality in such a way that people are seen as deserving the outcomes and treatment they receive (Jost & Hunyady, 2002 p 112). 2.2 Neo Confucianism During the establishment of the Republic of Korea in 1948, the country adopted a Western constitution that ensures in an equal treatment between genders. Article 11:1 of the Korean constitution indicates: All citizens shall be equal before the law, and there shall be no discrimination in political, economic, social or cultural Life on account of sex, religion or social status. 4 However a constitution alone cannot change cultural believes or social behavior. Roots of gender inequality can be found hundreds of years ago when the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910) adopted Neo-Confucianism as the states ideology. During the 17 century the Choson Dynasty restructured family organization, like marriages and kinship practices, but also in the establishing of strict gender roles. Neo-Confusianism in contrast to a western constitution rather emphasizes inequality than equality. Not only there is a difference between gender, also social classes and generations are rather described as unequal (Cho, 1998). Confusion values are still dominant in the South Korean labor market. As a result those
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The Constitution of the Republic of Korea http://english.ccourt.go.kr/home/att_file/download/Constitution_of_the_Republic_of_Korea.pdf

values keep the woman subordinate in social and economical perspectives (Chun et al. 2008). Confucianism articulates ideas about self-cultivation, regulation of the family, social civility, moral education, ethical relations between persons, the wellbeing of the people, governance of the state, and universal peace. It has shaped the ideas, norms, and values that underlie the moral fabric of East Asian societies for many centuries and continues to do so up to the present day (Zhao & Biesta, 2011 p 9). 3 Statistics and measurement problems This chapter covers the results of South Korea gender inequality from the most common used methods (Chun et al, 2008). It shows the different outcomes and discusses briefly the difference among them. This chapter also shows some specific statistics regarding inequality on the labor market provided by the South Korean government. 3.1 Inter sexes labor market comparison The womans labor market participation increased from 41.9 % in 1985 to 50.0 % in 2008. The males participation in comparison increased from 72, 8 % in 1985 to 78,5 % in 2008. Notable fact in the womans participation is an M shaped line graph. Between 25 and 29 the participation reaches its peak with a 69, 3 % participation and this declined to 53, 3 % for the ages 30-34. Within the range of 40-44 years old, the womans participation on the labor market reached its second peak at 65, 9 % (2008 measures).5 An inequality can be when the average wages are examined. The average womans wage increased from 2000 to 2007 up to a monthly average of 1.839.000, but this is still only 63,0 % of the male average on a monthly base (slightly depending on educational achievement).6

5 6

National Statistical Office (2008), Annual Report on the Economically Active Population Survey Ministry of Labor (2007), Survey Report on Wage Structure, Survey Report on Occupational Wage Survey

Womans participation in local and central government (higher than level 5) is low, but a slight increase can be noticed. Participation in the central government increased from 4, 8 % in 2001 to 10, 0 % in 2007. In the local government the growth is less spectacular, from 5, 3 % in 2001 to 7, 1 % in 2007 7 8 (Lee, 2009). 3.2 The use of different methods to measure gender inequality In the 1995 Human Development Report two main measure methods of gender inequality were launched. The Gender-related Development Index (GDI) and the Gender Empowerment Measure GEM)(Gaye et al 2010). The GDI covers an overall assessment of well being, which covers measures of health, education and income. The GEM was launched as a complementary measure of the GDI and measures gender inequality in terms of economic and political power. The three dimensions included are: First, control over economic resources, measured by men and womens earned income. Second, economic participation and decision making, measured by women and mens share of administrative, professional, managerial, and technical positions. Third, political participation and decision making, measured by male and female shares of parliamentary seats (Gaye et al, 2010 p 8). The GEM represent the level of economic autonomy and political participation in society and the GDI is an index of life expectancy, knowledge and a decent standard of living (Chun et al 2008; Lee, 2009). For an overview of variables 9 . Since people were conducting research along the GDI and GEM methods, criticism occurred. Discussing the arguments in beyond the scope of this paper (for example the strong correlation between GPD and gender equality), but in 2010 a new methodology was launched to meet the critics (Gaye, 2010). The GII focuses on three dimensions: empowerment, economic activity and reproductive health. The GII shows the

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Ministry of Government Administration (2008), Yearbook of Ministry of Government Administration. Ministry of Public Administration and Security (2008), Civil Service Commission. 9 http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_20072008_Tech_Note_1.pdf

loss in human development due to inequality between female and male achievements in these dimensions (Gaye et al., 2010 p 8).

As mentioned earlier an in depth study of the different outcomes on the three different methods is beyond the scope of this paper, but the outcomes can reveal the general impression of the South Korean case. When looking at the GII index (2008 values), South Korea is ranked as number 20 between Austria (19) and Portugal (21)10. When looking at the 2009 GEM, South Korea is ranked as 61 out of 109 between the Russian Federation (60) and Vietnam (62) 11 . The GDI (2007/2008) South Korea is ranked as number 26 out of 159, between Slovenia (25) and Cyprus (27)12. In South Korea the low GEM index was therefore often used by lobby groups to force the government to take actions against the absence of woman in the political and economical sector (Gaye et al., 2010). The Global Gender Gap places South Korea at place 104 out of 134, between United Arab Emirates (103) and Kuwait (105)13.

4 Justification of labor market inequality Hoffman (1995) states that traditional gender opposition theory does not cover the full explanation of gender inequality in the specific South Korean case. Many scholars underestimate the role of the informal power women hold and therefore the image of South Korean women in society still holds descriptions as powerless and subordination. Previous research did not examine the psychological dimensions of woman experience like achievement oriented personalities. These underlying concepts were underestimated in explaining the male dominance.
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UN Human Developement Report 2010 Gender Inequality Index Human Developement 2009 Gender Empowerment Measure 12 Human Developement 2007 / 2008 Gender-related Developement Index 13 The Global Gender Gap Index 2010 rankings: Comparisons with 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006

Cook (2003) argues that the role of the woman in building the family is an important duty for Korean woman. According to (Berik, 2009) woman in Korea do not invest in careers, because of their home responsibilities. South Korea has with a weekly 46, 6 hours the highest amount of working hours among the OECD countries. Therefore family friendly jobs are hard to obtain and this results in a low participation on the labor market (Rudolf & Cho, 2011). Kwon (1996) 14 states that most of the research on gender inequality is conducted too simplistic. Cross country research ignores the complex relation between genders that exist for generations and ignoring those characteristics is misleading. Women prefer to stay away from the labor market. Women value intangible contribution to family and society more and woman are giving even more value to raise their kids properly. When comparing youth crime rates in South Korea and the U.S. the intangible input will be tangible, because U.S. rates are much higher due to bad marriages and family problems. In order to understand male female relations in Korea, research should not focus on the typical western pattern of gender inequality (Hoffman, 1995). According to Hoffman (1995) the common used gender opposition theory focuses too much on the displacing of dichotomized discourse of gender (Hekman, 1990 p 142). According to Hoffman (1995) this view in the South Korean case provides an incomplete. Inner psychological dimensions of woman experiences are ignored. "Many Korean women have developed high achievementoriented personalities despite their Obedient and self-sacrificing' image" Cho (1987 p 53). Hoffman (1995) also argues that women are the ones that maintain the old values to protect the society from low morality from the Western world. The male can be the leading in figure in public, but they are absolutely in control over family affairs.

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http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0254/is_n3_v55/ai_18688304/

The main argument made by Hoffman (1995) is that Western gender inequality thinking focuses on the removal of roles distinctions in order to achieve principled equality. This view ignores the existence of different psychological experiences among genders. In the South Korean case (and probably other countries like Japan we find an official cultural ideology that is strongly gender differentiated, with "public" and "domestic" domains that are comparatively much more clearly marked as male and female than in the United States, there exists an underlying cultural psychology that stresses a fundamental intimacy between men and women in which selves as well as gender are categorically blurred or identified with one another. (Hoffman, 1995 p 131). When comparing the gender among the U.S. and South Korea (but probably among other Asian and Western countries) it is important to distinguish the differences between the official cultural ideology of gender differences and gender roles and in contrast the cultural practice that is shaped by cultural psychologies, conceptualizations of self and philosophies of natural or cosmic order. When looking at the surface it looks as if South Korean woman are treated unequal, and are powerless. U.S. woman in contrast look very free, equal and powerful on the surface. Under the surface the reality of Korean cultural psychology recognizes a certain non-conflictual identity that resulted in a unity of sexes and in the U.S. sexes rather can be regarded as they are in a play for power (Hoffman, 1995). 5 Discussion and conclusion The research shows that scholars agree that there is a gender inequality on the South Korean labor market. The results of the most common used gender inequality measuring methodologies (GII, GEM, GDI & GGG) can provide us an impression, but because of the ambiguity among the results, scholars can easily defend their opinions. Results vary from rank 20 in the GII to rank 104 in the GGG index. The indexes also show that the inequality on

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South Korean gender market is decreasing (for example by IMF reforms), but only slow progress was made and it is still lacking behind when the results are compared with most Western countries. During this paper it is argued that there is a gender inequality and this paper rather focuses on the social justification of that social problem instead of determine how big the problem really is. Maybe this makes it even more interesting to look at arguments that are not supported by hard (among scholars) widely accepted statistics. System justification theory mainly focuses on how people are rationalizing the social problem. Striking was that arguments for justifying the system were mainly based on the old cultural traditions in the Korean society. Many scholars underestimate the intangible psychological experiences of woman in Korean society and the role they play in the parts of society that are not covered in the statistics. The way how the gender inequality was rationalized was first based on the different perspectives on gender inequality. Western views rather regard societies as equal by making principle equality among the different sexes. Koreans rather focus on the psychological equality, while accepting that there is a difference between sexes. Second this result in a situation where the Western women are equal on the surface, but in fact are in rival of power with males and in contrast Korean women look unequal on the surface but in fact achieve a unity of sexes. This explanation fits the description of a Neo Confucian philosophy that justifies differences in contrast to a Western society where the main doctrine depends on equality among people.

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References Berik, G. (2009) "Growth with gender inequality: Another look at East Asian development." In Social Justice and Gender Equality: Rethinking Development Strategies and Macroeconomic Policies. New York: Routledge. Cho, E. (1998). Caught in Confusius Shadow: The Struggle for Womans Legal Equality in South Korea. Columbia Journal of Asian Law. Vol: 12 no 2. Cho, H. (1987). "Korean Women in the Professions," in Korean Women in Transition: At Home and Abroad Los Angeles: Center for Korean-American and Korean Studies, California State University. P 47-70. Chun, H., Y. H. Khang, I. H. Kim & S. I. Cho. (2008). Explaining Gender Differences in Illhealth in South Korea: The Roles of Socio-structural, Psychosocial, and Behavioral Factors. Social Science & Medicine 67 p 9881001. Cong, L. (2008). Does the Current Position of Women in the Labor Market in Asia Pacific Countries Signal an End to Gender Inequality? International Journal of Business and Management. Vol 3 no 6 p 118 -122. Eitzen, D. Stanley, Maxine B., and K. E. Smith. (2009). Social Problems. (11th Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Festinger, L. (1957). A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Stanford University Press. Stanford California. Gaye, A.,J. Klugman, M. Kovacevic, S. E. Twigg & Zambrano. ( 2010). Measuring Key Disparities in Human Development: The Gender Inequality Index. United Nations Development Programme Human Development Reports Research Paper.

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Hekman, Susan J. 1990. Gender and Knowledge: Elements ofa Postmodern Feminism. Boston: Northeastern University Press. Hoffman, D. M. (1995) The Cultural Construction of Male and Female in South Korea. Korean Studies, Volume 19 p 112-138. Jost, J. T., M. R. Banaji & B. A. Nosek. (2004). A Decade of System Justification Theory: Accumulated Evidence of Conscious and Unconscious Bolstering of the Status Quo. Political Psychology, Vol. 25, No. 6. pp. 881-919 Jost, J. T., & Banaji, M. R. (1994). The role of stereotyping n system-justification and the production of false consciousness. British Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 1-27. Jost, J. T. & O. Hunyady. (2002). The psychology of system justification and the palliative function of ideology. European Review of Social Psychology. Vol: 13 p 111-153. Kim, H. & Voos, P. B. (2007). The Korean economic crisis and working women. Journal of Contemporary Asia, Vol 37 no 2, 190-208. Kinias, Z. & H. S. Kim. (2011). Culture and Gender Inequality: Psychological Consequences of Perceiving Gender Inequality. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations p 1-16 Lee, S. (2009). Gender Studies and Policy Reviews. Korean Womans Development Institute. Vol 2 p 1-128. Nam, S. (2010). "Womens Movement and the Transformation of the Family Law in South Korea: Interactions Between Local, National and Global Structures. European Journal of East Asian Studies. Vol 9 no 1 67-86. Rudolf, R. & S. Y. Cho (2011). The Gender-Specific Effect of Working Hours on Family Happiness in South Korea. Development Economics Research Group.
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Zhao, K. & G. J. J. Biesta (2011). Lifelong Learning Between East and West: Confucianism and the Reflexive Project of the Self. Interchange. Vol 42/1 p 120. Links Gender indexes
GGG: GDI: https://members.weforum.org/pdf/gendergap/rankings2010.pdf http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_20072008_GDI.pdf

GEM: http://tinyurl.com/449khfg GII: http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2010_EN_Table4_reprint.pdf

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