Korean Culture
EXAMINATION OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AND THEIR AFFECT ON WOMEN'S ROLES FOR KOREAN AND JAPANESE FEMALE STUDENTS
The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which females roles are influenced by their cultural background. Particularly this study will focus on close examination of how Korean and Japanese cultural influences affect a women's career aspirations and expectation for success in society. The study will be broken down into two sections; the first portion will consist of primarily an observational review of the Literature available regarding female roles in Japan and Korea. An analysis of the two cultures will be executed. The second half of the study will entail a field study of American students with Korean and Japanese cultural backgrounds, in an attempt to ascertain to what extent female student roles are influenced by the models of their parents, the majority of whom were raised in Japan or Korea. First generation students/families will be examined only, to assess the most accurate information.
This study will be conducted as a qualitative/observational study. The aim of the study is to compare the differing roles of women in Japan and in Korea, in an attempt to ascertain to what extent women are brought up differently, if at all. The hypothesis to be examined in the first portion of the study is as follows:
Hypothesis 1: Women take on traditional roles such as that of wife and mother in both Japan and Korea, despite trends in the west toward gender equality.
The research question to be examined was whether or not educational and peer influences affect a women's role and aspirations to break out of that role in both Korea and Japan. The hypothesis is supported by the assumption that women growing up in Japan and Korea are subjected to a predominately patriarchal system, whereby female roles have traditionally been subordinated to those of men.
For purposes of this study, women's roles were examined via Literature Review from studies conducted of college women in Korea and Japan, and of studies conducted related to career opportunities among women.
OBSERVATIONAL ANALYSIS/REVIEW OF LITERATURE
In a study conducted by Song (2001) women's career aspirations were examined among 482 Korean college women in South Korea. The study showed that a formal education perpetuating gender inequality exists among many of the students, thus many students based on educational experience only would not be able to envision themselves in a career. Rather the inter-relationships and external factors such as peer influences and internal factors such as maternal influences and the mother-daughter relationship were examined to uncover to what extent a woman's self-perception and career orientation were influenced. The study acknowledged that a woman's choice of roles and career aspirations were tied to developmental history and the pressures of the social climate (Song, 2001:1).
In this particular study, women's roles varied greatly. Sholomskas and Axelrod (1986) point out that while some women in Korean culture seek to develop careers others limit their working world to their families, while still others choose to work but not in a career capacity (p.171). The Korean culture traditionally has maintained that women's roles are subordinate to that of men; this despite the fact that women have contributed greatly to the economic growth in Korea (Park, 1993). Women's participation in the labor force was just under 50% in the mid nineties, though a majority of women were concentrated in low end positions rather than career positions. Generally studies have supported the idea that Korean women's "inability to envision themselves in a career" can be attributed to several stereotypes and barriers including discrimination by employers and a patriarchal ideology. Also within Korea the educational system has been described as perpetuating gender inequalities. Inequalities within the educational system in Korea seem to be exacerbated rather than equalized (Acker, 1984a, Song, 2001). Stromquist (1988) argued that the government in Korea perpetuates the subordinate role of women by deploying patriarchal ideologies that keep women contained regarding education and career options. Women generally are still considered an optimal choice for domestic labor within Korea.
Song's study (2001) acknowledged that schools in Korea typically still promote gender inequality as an integral part of education. Women also are influenced by the actions of their peers and mothers, who are also subjected to a patriarchal system where a woman's role is traditionally defined and limited to less superior roles. Interestingly Song (2001) suggest that the relationship that mothers play in the lives of their daughter can inspire female children to pursue a career.
Research...
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