The Role of ‘Female Creators’ in Digital Platforms

Interview with Jeong Jae-hoon, Head of TikTok Operations
Highlighting Female Creators' Impact, Presenting New Directions and Dreams

The activities of female creators who overcome barriers such as gender discrimination, childbirth and childcare, and career interruptions in various fields and share their own stories with the public are gaining attention.

Women who took to the streets of New York in 1908 demanding the right to live and the right to vote.

Women who took to the streets of New York in 1908 demanding survival rights and suffrage now speak of equal rights on digital platforms. On the occasion of 'International Women's Day,' the theme of the 67th UN Commission on the Status of Women session is 'DigitalALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality.' This reflects the growing recognition of female creators on digital platforms as part of innovation for gender equality.

In line with this movement, TikTok, which planned lectures by four domestic female creators, stated that it aims to empower and inspire more women by sharing the stories of those who have overcome various social barriers as women. Jeong Jae-hoon, Head of Operations at TikTok Korea, who planned the event, explained, "Female creators who faced various barriers and difficulties as women in our society have experienced positive changes in their lives and careers based on activities on digital platforms like TikTok, regaining new directions and dreams."

TikTok holds a special lecture for International Women's Day with four female creators.
Photo by TikTok

Regarding the background of recruiting female creators for the lectures, Jeong said, "For example, 'Heungbutton,' a speech instructor, overcame unreasonable situations as a female announcer and rose as an educational creator providing content on how to speak well on TikTok. Musical actress 'Jyeon Unni,' who lost her stage due to the COVID-19 situation, did not give up but met more fans through short-form TikTok with new attempts."

He added, "'Creator Noh Sori confidently reveals her 70kg body and delivers 'body positive' content that loves her body as it is, and fashion creator 'Juni' overcame the career interruption crisis caused by childbirth and COVID-19, growing into a 1.5 million creator on TikTok and successfully recovering her economic power. These cases raised their voices through beneficial and diverse content that positively changes the world through the platform."

From the platform operator's perspective, attention to the activities of various creators also formed the foundation of this plan. Jeong assessed, "In an era where anyone can become a creator, female creators are actively participating, producing beneficial and diverse content that positively changes the world and raising their voices. This is not only a trend in Korea but a global movement."

Jaehoon Jung, Head of TikTok Operations.
Photo by TikTok

He also emphasized, "Creators who share tips for negotiating benefits and salaries as women, female lawyers who explain complex legal procedures, and female creators with hearing disabilities educating the hearing-impaired community are producing content for gender equality in the digital age. As a platform, we are simultaneously conducting hashtag campaigns related to their gender equality efforts to enhance synergy."

Jeong, who dreams of an environment where anyone can easily create content, said, "To support female creators, TikTok is building an environment where anyone can easily create content through various production tools and educational programs within the app. Since this is an era where anyone can express their creativity, find their dreams, and change, we plan to support female creators in overcoming social barriers to raise their voices to the world and lead positive changes not only in career growth but also in life." He added, "We hope that more female creators will grow and realize their dreams on the digital platform stage in the future."