All posts tagged: Labor Rights

Interview with BBC (August 15th, 2016)

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South Korea gaming: How a T-shirt cost an actress her job http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37018916 I’ve been interviewed by the BBC for about thirty minutes regarding the recent Nexon incident and feminism in Korea in general. It’s interesting to see how news reporting works. I have to admit, the following quote isn’t what I’d have chosen to write out of that conversation, and it could use some elaborating, since the first sentence now makes it seem like I’ve had plastic surgery and that’s why I’ve taken my picture down – and it’s not clear why ‘Korean women are in such despair’. A blogger who writes under the pseudonym Emily Singh told the BBC she had taken her picture down from her own blog because she feared reprisals. She said that many Korean women were in such despair that they considered emigrating. But I’m happy to see the BBC is taking interest in feminism in Korea.

Korean student speaks out against government hiring practice requiring interpreters to “look pretty”

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“Why is it my duty to be pretty just because the President [of Korea] is coming to town? Image: JTBC News A Korean student currently studying in Paris has spoken out against absurd hiring conditions imposed at the 2016 KCON France held at AccorHotels Arena on June 2nd (the original message can be found on her Facebook account. A transcript is available via Kyunghyang Daily) Elodie Kim was hired as an interpreter at the KCON. But she was later demanded by KakaoTalk (equivalent of WhatsApp), to provide her measurements and a full-body photo. She asks whether they are indeed talking about the same job offer – that of an interpreter. The hiring agent replies “Yes, but looks are important”. Another student hired at the event is told that “You are hired as an assistant at an information booth for Korean SMEs. Looks matter as much as your [French] language skills”. Bibigo (Korea, US, UK), a Korean restaurant chain, has gone as far to highlight in red that their hiring requirements are “looks, French language skills, and …