Comments on: Will Korean Airlines Stop Hiring Only Female Fight Attendants?

By: Korean Feminist Reader: 2 March 2009 « The Grand Narrative

Korean Feminist Reader: 2 March 2009 « The Grand Narrative — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:21:38 +0000

[...] For some reason Google Reader only yesterday gave me the last seven of Aaron McKenzie’s posts at Idiot’s Collective, so earlier I missed his take on a lengthy feature in the JoongAng Daily about the discrimination against male flight attendants in the Korean airline industry, by coincidence the issue which prompted me to start these weekly posts in the first place. For my take on the issue from when it first arose in late December last year, see ROK Drop here. [...]

By: Nova Scotia Scott » Blog Archive » Korea’s HRC accuses Korean Air of sexism

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:32:58 +0000

[...] Drop is running a poll asking readers, “Do you want Korean Airlines [to] hire male flight attendants”? At the time of [...]

By: Sonagi

Sonagi — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:42:13 +0000

I don’t think Korean Airlines would hire so many females if its customers did not want it.

Companies selling goods and services to both sexes often target men. This is especially true in Korea. I often saw advertisements featuring pudgy, plain ajosshis standing next to petite, pretty women. Although women are making inroads into career-path employment with companies, Korean businesses are still male-dominated; hence, marketing is for men by men unless the product is make-up, diet pills, or something else that is mostly consumed by women.

One of my pet peeves about airlines in general are the seats with headrests appropriate for someone 5′9″-6′0″ tall. Those damn headrests push forward the heads of shorter folks, bending the neck uncomfortably.

By: Guitard

Guitard — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:33:21 +0000

I fly on KAL often… and don’t find many of the stewardesses to be all that attractive. I’m not saying they’re butt ugly – but very few of them are so pretty that you get off the plane thinking, “Damn! Those were some hot looking stewardesses!!”

By: ?? ? The Western Confucian: In Defense of Korean Air Stewardesses

?? ? The Western Confucian: In Defense of Korean Air Stewardesses — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:24:03 +0000

[...] reports on a classic case of feminists threatening state power against the rights of a company — Will Korean Airlines Stop Hiring Only Female Fight Attendants? Here’s the story in a nutshell:South Korea’s official human rights watchdog urged Korean Air Lines [...]

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 20:41:19 +0000

Sex discrimination is bad, and I do agree that Korea Air needs to open up to male applicants. Don’t worry guys, I think that after decades of it being a female-dominated industry, I don’t think you’ll have too many men applying for positions like this. Kind of like having a male nurse. What a ridiculous idea! *cough* Until recently.

But issues of sex discrimination aside, Korea shouldn’t be taking cues from the West on how to run its airlines or its flight crews. The people I’ve dealt with flying over here from the States were brutes, and treated the foreigners in coach like dirt. You know “foreigners” . . . the Koreans flying to Korea, the Chinese flying out of Hong Kong. Let’s not rush to hire anybody under the sun just for the sake of being “fair.” Isn’t providing good, pleasant service also fair? With the sense of entitlement that goes along with jobs also comes the sense of entitlement that causes people in customer service positions to resent their clients.

Korean customer service is light years beyond what we tolerate back home, and I don’t think we’re too at risk right now to see it devolve into that. Korea does need to open this up to male applicants who wish to . . . apply, but I hope we don’t see other special interests hacking into an industry that, let’s face it, Korea and Asia do very well. We can take some cues from the west regarding race and sex discrimination, but let’s also look at all the damage political correctness has done.

And as an aside, those flight attendants must have a short shelf-life, even if you don’t count the age ceiling that might exist . . . aren’t Koreans notorious for being tough passengers? Haven’t experienced that myself, but . . . people talk.

By: Wrenchbender

Wrenchbender — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:53:07 +0000

Yep, who want’s to be doted on by a gay dude or Cargo Margo who throws peanuts at you and sneers when you want a drink God forbid when you have young hotties giving you service with a smile.

By: JAFO

JAFO — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:59:09 +0000

I find air travel in Asia to be refreshing after seeing how American airlines compete with each other to hire the fattest, oldest and ugliest flight attendants to avoid lawsuits by demonstrating they hire more ragged looking women than the industry average.

Men should be firemen and women should be flight attendants and that’s just the way it is.

By: GI Korea

GI Korea — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:19:38 +0000

James that I can agree with that it is not morally right but I don’t think Korean Air cares about what is morally right when compared to their bottom line. Especially in today’s economic climate where these airlines have to do everything possible to attract passengers to use their airline.

By: James Turnbull

James Turnbull — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:33:12 +0000

Yeah, I realized that after I finished typing, and I concede your point. But the fact that hordes of ajosshis want only young attractive women on the plane doesn't somehow make it morally right to refuse the job to men or women over 30. I mean jeez, it's nearly 2009, but Korean Air is still firmly stuck in the 1960s, and so if some institutions and industries have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st Century, then so be it. I say good on the Human Rights watchdog for shaming them.