"'Not Wearing Makeup Is Rude?'... Young People in Their 20s and 30s Expose Gender Gaps in the Region"

Second "Gender Equality Talk Concert, Sodapop" Held on the 10th
18 Young People from Cheongju, Chungbuk Share Their Stories
Voicing Experiences of "Regional Gender Imbalance"

"In Chungbuk, manufacturing and technology-related industries are predominant, so there are not many places where women can continue their careers. As an alternative, women try to start their own businesses, but it is also difficult to sustain them, so government support is needed to make these efforts sustainable."

Ms. Yoo, a young entrepreneur in her 30s and a mother of three, said, "After becoming a career-interrupted woman, I challenged myself to start a business, but it overlapped with the period when I had to care for my children, so there were many practical difficulties." She explained that the further away from the capital region, the narrower the range of job options for women, and the stronger the stereotypes about gender roles, making both employment and entrepreneurship difficult for women.

On the 10th, at the Innovation Support Center in the Ochang Science Industrial Complex in Cheongju, Chungbuk, 18 young people in their 20s and 30s from the Chungbuk region who shared these concerns attended the "Gender Equality Talk Concert, Sodapop" event to discuss their experiences with gender imbalance. The Gender Equality Talk Concert is an event planned by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to examine and diagnose gender perception gaps from a youth perspective, and will be held a total of five times. At this second session, participants shared a variety of experiences they had in daily life under the theme of "Gender Perception Gaps and Opportunities and Roles by Gender in the Region," including career paths, employment, roles in the workplace, and roles at home.

Won Minkyoung, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, participated in the 2nd Gender Equality Talk Concert "Sodapop" held on the afternoon of the 10th at the Ochang Science Industrial Complex in Cheongju, Chungbuk, and engaged in an open discussion about gender perception gaps in the region.

In particular, female participants voiced the difficulties they faced as job seekers in the region. Ms. Kim, a job seeker in her 20s, said, "I was born and raised in Chungbuk and want to stay here, but since this area is mainly developed around manufacturing, there are no places for female job seekers, so I have no choice but to leave for Seoul." She added, "During the job search process, I was even advised that since Chungbuk favors male employees, it might be better to build my career in another region and then return, which made me seriously consider leaving the area." On the other hand, some argued that the lack of jobs in the region is an issue that affects all young people. Mr. Lee, a job seeker in his 20s, said, "There are simply not enough jobs in the region, so young people are leaving," and added, "It is not appropriate to view this only as a problem caused by gender perception gaps and to try to create systems or policies based solely on that."

Minister Won Minkyoung responded, "The government also recognizes balanced regional growth as a very important issue," and added, "It is necessary to discuss ways to prevent excessive concentration in the capital area and to promote regional growth." She continued, "Since Chungbuk is centered on manufacturing, women may feel that 'there is nothing here for me to pursue,' but after meeting with local economic organizations, I felt that it would be great if women actively worked to strengthen their capabilities," offering words of encouragement.

Male participants spoke about the reality that it is practically difficult to take parental leave. Mr. Lee, a job seeker in his 20s, said, "When I was an intern, I heard that if a male employee takes parental leave, it means giving up on promotion," and added, "Although there is some improvement in perceptions, I have never seen a structure where men take care of the household and women are the breadwinners." He emphasized, "There must be changes in both perceptions and workplaces."

Jang Woojung, a member of the Chungbuk Gender Equality Committee (PhD candidate in Sociology at Chungbuk National University), also pointed out in her presentation that "Parental leave is cited as an area where men experience unfair treatment." According to the 2024 Cheongju Youth Survey, 14.3% of female respondents and 23.8% of male respondents answered "yes" to the question, "Have you experienced unfair treatment when using parental leave?" Jang explained, "This also affects the parental leave usage rate, and the rate for men is less than half that of women."

Won Minkyoung, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, participated in the 2nd Gender Equality Talk Concert "Sodapop" held on the afternoon of the 10th at the Ochang Science Industrial Complex in Cheongju, Chungbuk, and engaged in a free discussion about gender perception gaps in the region.

However, the talk show revealed that simply taking parental leave is not a perfect solution for those who actually use it, as they immediately have to worry about their livelihood. Mr. Lee, an office worker in his 30s who supports his wife-who became paralyzed from the waist down during childbirth-and their four children, including twins, said, "I took a year of parental leave, but in reality, the costs were overwhelming," and added, "Parental leave was far from enough, so I looked for other support programs, but there were none at all," expressing his disappointment.

Participants also shared their experiences of workplace gender discrimination in the region. Ms. Joo, a woman in her 20s who has worked in Seoul, Daejeon, and now Cheongju, said, "At my company, female employees naturally end up peeling fruit for snacks or cleaning up after group meals. If I object, I get told, 'Are men and women really the same?' and if I go to work without makeup, I am told, 'Put on some makeup, it's common courtesy,'" she said, choking up. With her voice trembling, she appealed, "My dream is to leave the region and move to the capital area. Please create good policies not only for large corporations but also for small and medium-sized enterprises."

Another participant, a woman in her 30s with more than 10 years of work experience, said, "When I was in my early 20s, my job description did not include making coffee, but I always ended up doing it. I endured it, thinking it was part of my work, but now I feel that things have improved, as women have more opportunities to speak up and the suggestions we make are actually reflected in policies."

Minister Won responded, "We will carefully organize the stories shared today so that the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family can address them, and for issues that require cooperation with other ministries, we will work together to reflect them in policies."