Laura Bicker Profile picture
Mar 2 6 tweets 1 min read
Just a few facts as South Korean presidential candidates discuss feminism.

South Korean women’s average monthly wage was 67.7% of that of men in 2020, which is the biggest gap among OECD countries.
On sex crimes, which is a major concern for many young women in particular.

On average over the last 10 years, 99.1% of those convicted of sex crimes were male and 0.9% were female.

Sentences were historically low. 41.4% were given probation and 30.2% a fine.
It is true that some corporations in South Korea are hiring more women. But still women only make up 5.2% of boards.

The public sector is faring better due to a push to hire more women. Female managers make up 22.8% of central gov, 20.8% local gov, 26.4% in public institutions
This campaign has focussed predominantly on young men as some believe they will swing this election. Those I’ve spoken to say they feel “reverse discrimination”. They have to serve in the military, and despite women calling for equality, men still have to pay for house, family.
Those things may be true and they have a right to be heard. The problem is that even the fight for equality in Korea is not equal.

Young women took to the streets for years to fight for tougher sentences for sex crimes. It took until 2019 for laws to change.. and yet..
And yet, adverts depicting this 🤏 emoji which some Korean men believed were making fun of their appendage size were pulled after just days of an online outcry.

In this campaign the cry of ‘Me Too’ feels drowned out by men shouting ‘Me First’.

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More from @BBCLBicker

Mar 8
Vera Wang: I find ageism so old-fashioned bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-…
Vera Wang: “I’ve always said that a vodka cocktail, a lot of sleep - and work. Work is the magic elixir.”

Glorious. However I’m replacing the vodka with gin!

(H/T @BBCKarishma )
I travelled to rural South Korea to interview grandmothers who were filling up an empty 1st grade classroom due to the low birth rate . They finally got a chance to learn to read & write. I usually get asked here: “are you married?”

And sure enough the question came… (cont.)
Read 4 tweets
Mar 8
Oh look! South Korea remains at the bottom of Economist’s glass ceiling index. Again. Image
We spent some time with both sides of the so-called ‘gender-war’ in South Korea during this presidential election to try to find out why feminism has become such a dirty word.

Why misogyny is at the heart of South Korea's presidential elections bbc.co.uk/news/world-asi…
I would say this about my time with all of these dedicated young people - they are all politically active and involved. Both the men and the women.

All want change. So whoever wins the Blue House should be prepared for a young generation who will hold them to account.
Read 4 tweets
Jul 13, 2020
The lawyer who represented the woman who claims to have been sexually harassed by Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon says her client was subjected to abuse for 4 years. She alleges that he would send pics of him in his underwear at night. (more follows)
Mayor Park took his own life last week just hours after she filed the allegations to police.

His funeral is being held this week.

Women’s rights campaigners in Seoul are calling for a full inquiry, if not by the police - by the city office- into the allegations.
Reporters asking questions about this to Democratic (Minjoo) party leaders have been told to “mind their manners”.

It is a difficult issue because Mayor Park has played such a crucial role in liberal politics and even won South Korea’s first sexual harassment case.
Read 5 tweets
Jun 3, 2020
My team and I were allowed behind the scenes at South Korea’s main Incheon airport as a flight arrived from the US. Here is a picture thread of the measures being taken to keep arriving passengers safe, and also to prevent further infections of Covid-19
First, everything is regularly disinfected. Including the pens! When passengers arrive they have to fill in a yellow form declaring where they’ve come from and whether they have symptoms.

They will then go through the first temperature check. Just like this...
If a passenger has symptoms they will be given a consultation with a doctor on site and if the doctor thinks it’s necessary you’ll be given a Covid-19 test at this point.
Read 9 tweets
May 18, 2020
South Korea's phased return to the classroom starts on Wednesday with High School Seniors (3rd Graders) in Seoul. 7,000 extra staff will be despatched to schools in the city to help with Covid-19 prevention measures. Each school has been checked by an official a number of times.
South Korea's prevention measures include thermal imaging and temp checks at the school gate, mask stocks (5 per student) school cafeterias have been fitted with plastic dividers. All students must submit a health check online everyday one week before school starts.
Each week more students will go back to school. Slowly and steadily. Until June 8th when everyone should be back in the classroom.

If there's a case of Covid-19 in a school, it will be closed immediately and classes will resume online.
Read 4 tweets
Apr 14, 2020
The polls have opened in South Korea for Election Day. Here’s how they’re doing it. First, stand at least a meter apart in the queue, then a temperature check. Then you’re squirted with hand sanitizer and given plastic gloves before you’re allowed inside the voting station. ImageImageImage
There been a record early turnout across the country in the two days of early polling on Friday and Saturday. The fear of infection doesn’t appear to be keeping people away. More than 11 million people, about 26% of the population, have cast their votes in advance. Image
If someone has a temperature above 37.5 degrees Celsius, they will be taken to a separate voting area.

Special polling booths have also been set up outside residential centres caring for hundreds of people with mild symptoms of coronavirus.
Read 5 tweets

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