Korea And The World

Despite South Korea’s economic development, and its status as a full member of the OECD group of nations, critics continue to denounce the conservative nature of the Korean society. As we mentioned here before, South Korea ranks very low in indexes measuring inequality between men and women (e.g. the Global Gender Gap Report, published by the World Economic Forum), alongside countries one would not necessarily associate Korea with (such as Qatar or Nigeria). Such rankings reflect tangible societal expectations, norms and behaviors that South Korean women are expected to embrace, but which they sometimes also resist or transgress. Our guest for this interview, Professor Aljosa Puzar, has dedicated much of his research to the coming of age of young women in Korea and the process he describes as their “dollification”. Professor Puzar argues that in terms of esthetics, behavior, and expected social roles young women are encouraged to become “dolls” – and to develop a femininity that does not threaten already esta