South Korea has experienced significant improvements for social changes in recent years, compared to previous times, when Confucianism was deeply imbued in the culture. Gender roles and gender identities have been modified in response to modernity. Gender inequality in South Korea has been described as being derived from deeply rooted ideologies with specifically defined gender-roles. While it remains prevalent in South Korea's economy and politics, gender inequality has decreased in healthcare and education. Gender payment gap remains a major issue; as of 2023, South Korean women earn $22,750 less than men based on 2021 purchasing power parity. South Korea has generally ranked low in gender equality indexes, ranking last in the Glass Ceiling Index published by The Economist in 2020 and 101st out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report.
Gender statistics Due to the various methods of calculating and measuring gender inequality, South Korea's gender inequality rankings vary across different reports. While the 2017 UNDP Gender Inequality Index ranks South Korea 10th out of 160 countries, the World Economic Forum ranks South Korea 118th out of 144 countries in its 2017 Global Gender Gap Report. In their 2013 study, Branisa et al. explain that indices like the Global Gender Gap Index tend to be "outcome-focused", which means they focus on gender inequalities in agency and in well-being.
Indices like the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) focus on the origins of gender inequalities, such as laws and norms. South Korea is one of three OECD countries that did not receive a perfect SIGI score. While the SIGI did not give South Korea an overall ranking, the country was reported to have very low levels of discriminatory family code, low levels of restricted civil liberties, and medium levels of restricted resources and assets.
In 2010, 93% of South Koreans surveyed believed women should have equal rights to men, and among them, 71% believe more changes are needed before that goal is achieved. +South Korea's subindices rankings in the 2025 Global Gender Gap ReportSubindexRank (out of 148 countries)Score (0 = imparity, 1 = parity)Global Gender Gap Index1010.696Economic Participation and Opportunity1140 605Educational Attainment980.980Health and Survival350.976Political Empowerment920.223 +South Korea's female to male ratios in the 2025 Global Gender Gap ReportIndicatorsRank (out of 148 countries)South Korea's female to male ratioWage equality for similar work940.602Estimated earned income1160.515Legislators, senior officials and managers1240.213Enrollment in tertiary education1170.855Women in parliament1020.255Women in ministerial positions850.231Years with female head of state (last 50)390.104
Korea ranks 114th in college enrollment, with 111 percent for men and 85 percent for women. There is a strange conclusion that 111 out of 100 Korean men go to college. Taking a leave of absence without leaving school is also treated as a university education period, because it is common to take a leave of absence during the military period, which increases the education period.
History
Gender inequality in South Korea is largely rooted in the country's Confucian ideals and has been perpetuated and deepened by historical practices and events, such as Japanese forced sex slavery and Park Geun-Hye's scandal. However, contemporary South Korea has made great strides in attempting to reduce gender inequality through legislation and policy-making.
Confucianism Confucianism is a socio-political philosophy and belief system that has had a long-standing influence on South Korean society. It was first brought to Korea in the fourth century and Neo-Confucianism was chosen as the national ideology during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1897).
Confucianism is an ideology that emphasises the importance of a social hierarchy in order to create a balanced and harmonious society. This hierarchy is illustrated through the Five Relationships, a key teaching in Confucianism that describes the main basic relationships between people as follows; ruler and ruled, father and son, husband and wife, elder brother and younger brother and friend and friend.
The roles in each relationship were also prescribed individual duties which, for husband and wife, involved the husband acting as the bread-winner for the family while the wife was to stay at home, raise the children and maintain the household. The Three Bonds are an extension of these relationships that later appeared in Confucian literature and emphasise the hierarchical nature of the relationships as follows; the ruler over the ruled, the father over the son and the husband over the wife. This core Confucian principle emphasises a woman's role as subservient to her husband.
Another key teaching in Confucian literature that directly influences the subjugation of women are the Three Obediences and the Four Virtues, guidelines that describe how a woman should behave in society. The Three Obediences require that women "obey the father before the marriage, obey the husband after marriage, and obey the first son after the death of the husband" while The Four Virtues require "(sexual) morality, proper speech, modest manner, and diligent work".
The Joseon dynasty saw a particular shift in gender roles as society transitioned from Buddhist to Confucian ideals. This resulted in the systems of marriage and kinship becoming patrilineal rather than matrilineal. As a husband's role was deemed superior to that of the wife, men not only had control over inheritance matters, but "the right to grant a divorce was limited to the state and the husbands themselves". Husbands were able to grant a divorce base on the Seven Sins for women or chilgeojiak (칠거지악); "disobeying one's parents-in-law, failure to produce a male heir, adultery, excessive jealousy towards other women in the household, serious disease, stealing, and talking excessively".
Wartime sex slavery During World War II, thousands of young Korean women (Japanese citizens at that time) were forcibly recruited to work as prostitutes or "comfort women" by contracts with Korean brothels to serve for the Japanese Imperial Army.
Kim Hak Sun stated an officer harmed and threatened her by saying that she would be killed if she did not obey him. She was then brutally raped. Together with other 4 young Korean women, she had to be a "hygienic tool used by Japanese soldiers to satisfy their sexual desire." In the comfort station, the victims aged between 17 and 22 had to deal with about 7 to 8 Japanese soldiers a day in small rooms that were separated from one another by cloth. Lee Yong-soo was sixteen when she was forced to become a comfort woman. She recalls that on average, she was forced into sexual relations with four to five men a day and did not have any rest even when she was menstruating. She also says that she "suffered electrical torture, was beaten and was cut by a soldier's knife." She learned to submit, not wanting to be shocked or beaten again. Kim Bok-dong at age 14~15 in 1941, and her mother were lied to by Japanese authorities; Kim Bok-dong was told that she was to support the war efforts by working in a military clothing factory and would return in three years. If not, her family would be considered traitors. The Japanese authorities demanded that her mother, who could not read, sign a document. Her mother conceded to the demand, believing that her daughter would work in a factory in Japan. Instead, she was put into militarized sexual slavery in Japanese occupied territories for eight years, including Guangdong, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Kim Bok-dong was raped every day, especially from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Many Koreans view these as atrocities and raise money for charities including many celebrities.
Legislation After the democratization of Korea, the number of feminist movements greatly increased. The Korean government began to address gender equality issues in the late 20th century with the following legislative acts:
Sexual Equality Employment Act (1987) Act on Equal Employment and Reconciliation of Work and Family (1989) Mother-Child Welfare Act (1991) Punishment of Sexual Violence and Protection of the Victim Act (1993) Women's Development Act (1995) Prevention of Domestic Violence and Protection of the Victim Act (1997)
In 2005, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family was established and the patrilineal family register (hoju) was abolished. While gender equality in policymaking and governance has improved over the last few decades, gender equality in labor markets and the division of labor has remained stagnant.
Park Geun-hye Although women gained the rights to vote and run for election in 1948, women have historically been underrepresented in South Korean politics. When Park Geun-hye became South Korea's first female president in 2012, many viewed her election as a victory for gender equality in South Korea. Four years later, her scandal and impeachment nullified any progress made by her election and left many convinced that women are not fit to lead their country. Many experts were also skeptical about watching Park Geun-hye as a female politician, saying she used her gender as an opportunity to influence conservative politics, and attempted to involve gender issues into seemingly unrelated political debates.
Professional inequality
The professional inequality in South Korea is atypically high among developed countries. This type of inequality can be seen in statistics concerning South Korea's wage gap, employment rates, occupational segregation, and parental leave.
Wage gap In their 2001 article about gender differences in earnings among South Korean workers in 1988, Monk-Turner and Turner report that "all else equal, men earn from 33.6 percent to 46.9 percent more than women with comparable skills." In 2017, the OECD placed Korea in the last position of all OECD countries for gender pay gap, a position that has not improved since the OECD first published this ranking in 2000. The gender pay gap in Korea is 34.6%, while the OECD average is 13.1%.
The gap has improved by 7% since 2000, though the rate of improvement has been slower than in other OECD countries. The Korean gender pay gap has been called "the worst... among the industrialized countries." Korea also ranked the lowest for the eighth year in a row on the Glass Ceiling Index published by The Economist in 2020. The Glass Ceiling Index was determined by the country's performance on ten indicators such as wage gap, labor force participation, representation in senior jobs, paid maternity leave, etc. As of 2023, South Korean women earn $22,750 less than men based on 2021 purchasing power parity. As of 2025, the World Economic Forum ranks South Korea 94th out of 148 countries in wage inequality.
Although gender inequality in South Korea’s job market is among the worst in the OECD, such wage gaps tend to be less prominent for earners in their 20s.
Employment Women tend to occupy low-paying, non-regular jobs and are less likely to be promoted to higher managerial positions in the workplace; however, employment opportunities for women in South Korea have steadily increased in the past few decades. Before the Korean War, the employment rate of women was less than 30%. In their 2018 Economic Survey for Korea, the OECD recorded the female employment rate to be around 56.1%, which is below the average (59.3%) for all OECD countries. The male employment rate is 75.9%, which is slightly higher than the OECD average (74.7%).