Women in South Korea () have experienced significant social changes in recent decades, compared to past eras when Confucianism was deeply imbued in Korean culture. The economy of South Korea has markedly grown due to urbanisation, industrialisation, military authoritarianism, democratic reform, and social liberalisation since the late 1960s. Gender roles and gender identities have been modified in response to modernity. More than half of South Korean women are employed.
In the South Korean political system, although there are not as many female politicians as male politicians, the female politicians have recently begun to participate more actively than in the past. As of 2025, South Korea has 20% of its members in the parliament as women.
In 2023, South Korea ranked 30th out of 177 countries on the Women, Peace and Security Index, which is based on 13 indicators of inclusion, justice, and security. In 2023, South Korea has ranked 20th out of 193 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI). In 2025, it ranked 12th out of 172 countries on Gender Inequality Index (GII), making the country the 2nd least gender unequal state in Asia. On the other hand, South Korea ranked low on Global Gender Gap Report, placing 101st out of 148 in 2025.
In rural areas, most women work in a primary industry such as the agriculture sector. They do not have the variety of educational and employment opportunities. According to a 2019 survey by Ministry of Agriculture, 81% of respondents perceived female farmers to have lower social standing than their male counterparts despite accounting for over 50% of farmers in South Korea.
The status of women has risen to a level where they can be considered socially equal to that of men in terms of education, health, and legal rights. However, there are still substantial political and economical prejudices against women. Korean women still consistently face gender stereotypes regarding rigid gender roles. These stereotypes include women staying at home as housewives, having less power and voice in political and economic participation and movements, and more. South Korean women pay a gender gap; as of 2023, South Korean women earn $22,750 less than men based on 2021 purchasing power parity.
History
In traditional Korean society, women were taught to be subordinated without formal advanced education or some education. Their roles were limited to be confined to the home as housewives and good mothers. Their duties were to maintain harmony in the household by avoiding any unnecessary conflicts. A married woman was to live in her husband's household by taking care of her husband's whole family including parents-in-law. Women were expected to produce sons and they were blamed if their children were girls due to the notion that a son was preferable to a daughter. This idea is called "son preference" (ko: 남아선호사상) and it resulted in sex selection and sex-selective abortion.
The idea of a preference for a boy had a profound impact on family life in Korea's traditional society. Due to the importance of having a son, the status of a woman was greatly affected by her ability to have sons and the number of sons that she had. Failure to give birth to a son caused women to be treated disrespectfully. In addition, the taking of a concubine by a husband was justified when a wife continued to fail to give birth to a son.
Women were expected to take on a passive role in society and support their husbands.
An improvement in the status of women first appeared during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A large number of Western Christian missionaries came to South Korea in order to set up modern schools. Some of these were established in order to educate women in diverse areas including literature, arts and religion. Prior to this, most Korean women did not have any access to education. As a result of this education, Korean women became able to participate in political movements because those who received education also took part in teaching other women. The Korean women's movement started in the 1890s with the foundation of Chanyang-hoe, followed by a number of other groups, primarily focused on women's education and the abolition of gender segregation and other didscriminatory practices.Tétreault, Mary Ann, Women and Revolution in Africa, Asia, and the New World
When Korea was under the colonial administration of Imperial Japan, many Korean women (numbering up to 200,000) were forced to work as comfort women in Japan's military brothels. Until the end of World War II, Korea was under Japanese occupation. Women participated in the independence movement against Japanese occupation during the 1910-45 period of Japanese colonisation. When Korea became a Japanese colony in 1910 women's associations were banned by the Japanese and many women instead engaged in the underground resistance groups such as the Yosong Aeguk Tongji-hoe (Patriotic Women's Society) and the Taehan Aeguk Buin-hoe (Korean Patriotic Women's Society). As a result, the role of women in society began to change.
After becoming independent from Japan, the Republic of Korea was established as a liberal democracy and women gained constitutional rights. A number of schools were founded for the education of women. Women educated in these schools began to take part in the arts, teaching and other economic activities. They also engaged other women in the discussion of gender equality. The percentage of women in professional fields has steadily increased which has resulted in significant contributions to society, especially in terms of increasing GDP.
As they took a larger role in economic activities, women experienced greater education attainment, providing additional opportunities for professionalization. Today, Korean women receive high levels of education and actively participate many fields and industries. In 1973, the women's groups in South Korea united in the Pan-Women's Society for the Revision of the Family Law to revise the discriminating Family Law of 1957, a cause that remained a main focus for the rest of the 20th century, and finally resulted in a major reform of the Family Law in 1991.
Women's participation in social and economic culture was expected to continue to grow and diversify after the election of South Korea's first female president, Park Geun-Hye in 2013. This was partially due to Park Geun-Hye's promise to promote a "women's revolution" and provide support for childcare, increased opportunities for promotion, and salary equality. Park Geun-Hye also promised to make other advances for women, but not all of these policies were realised.
Following a long global fight against the so-called "tampon tax" or "period poverty", South Korea's Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will launch a pilot program to provide free menstrual pads in public facilities with a 3-billion won funding, marking the country's first government-led effort to ensure universal access to menstrual products. The pilot program will cover 10 regions selected based on population and existing programs, with pads placed in public facilities to ensure accessibility. Earlier, President Lee Jae Myung criticized the relatively high cost of sanitary pads in South Korea compared to overseas markets, a move that pushed manufacturers to reduce prices and introduce ultra-low-cost options such as "100-won sanitary pads."
Legal rights
The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) states that discrimination against women is about equality of rights and human dignity. The political and social principles of the state violate the principle of respect for sex and are equal to that of men. Pointing out that it is an obstacle to participation in the economic, cultural life of the country. For the sake of development and human welfare and peace, women are equal to men in all areas. It is necessary to participate as much as possible and achieve full equality between men and women. The traditional role of men as well as the role of women in society and home to be successful. Also, the issue of discrimination against women in society as a whole. In all fields, such as politics, economy, society, culture, etc., under the basic recognition that it is necessary to take responsibility for it. To ensure that all appropriate measures are taken by the Parties to eliminate discrimination against women.
Women in South Korea are guaranteed all the legal rights that men have, except for complete control over their sexual and reproductive health. In 1948, women gained their legal rights to vote, drive, and own and inherit properties and assets. All Korean citizens are guaranteed for national health insurance under the National Health Insurance Act. South Korea has worked on its way to implement gender equality by revising and changing any discriminative contents in its existing legislative laws since the 1980s.
Implementation of laws to prohibit gender inequalities and prejudice have increased the number of women in the workforce. Women's status in South Korea illustrates the fact that Korea still has a lot of room to be improved for gender equality. Therefore, the legislation and public rules have critical and significant roles to influence Korean cities to elevate the social structure substantially.
South Korea outlawed marital rape in 2013.
"The Framework Act on Women's Development," which was enacted in 1995 and has been used as a legal basis for Korean women's policy, was renamed "The Framework Act on Gender Equality." From the birth of the Framework Act on Gender Equality in May 2014 to the enforcement on July 1, 2015, the various discourse was produced to view the revision as a paradigm shift in Korean women's policy. However, the revision has shaken the understanding of terms such as "gender" and "women," "gender equality" or "gender-sensitive perspectives," and caused a gap between political and academic over terminology. In this situation, we must consider how Korean women's policies have so far understood gender and how policies have changed. In addition, research has been conducted to explore ways in which "The Framework Act on Gender Equality" can be changed for the better through the concept of intersectionality.
By conducting surveys and in-depth interviews with Korean female welfare workers, investigators focused on examining gender awareness through various questions about gender perspectives and analyzing women's gender roles and gender identities in their families. According to the analysis, gender awareness was very weak in Korean women's welfare policy, but awareness of its importance and necessity was high. Women's welfare officials are often aware of women's gender roles as "dependents" and "caregivers," which results in a reflection in the policy's implementation process.
Reproductive rights
As this commentary examines a number of pronatalist policies implemented in South Korea within the last decade, the aim of the commentary is to assess how such policies could harm women's reproductive health if they are implemented only with the intention of controlling population growth. Since 2005, South Korea has heavily regulated and promoted the use of reproductive technologies, including abortion technologies and assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), to increase population growth. South Korea has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world.
Between 1990–1994 to 2015–2019, the number of unintended pregnancies in South Korea decreased by 49%. Abortion rates declined by 46% during the same period. During 2005–2009, the share of unintended pregnancies that ended in abortion reached 67%, then decreased to 62%.