South Korean Ad Highlights How Hard It Is to Be a Working Mother - Building Gender Balanced Business

• Hwang Myeong-eun’s face and story, made famous across South Korea, have provoked a public debate over how the country handles working mothers.

• Hwang appeared in a series of ads where she makes the hard-hitting assessment of how others see her: “I am a bad woman.”

• No, this wasn’t publicity for a child-care facility (of which there are few enough in South Korea) or a teaser for vacation company: Hwang, chief financial officer at an advertising company, put out the ads herself.

• “I want to share my burden with others,” she explains in the ad. “I am desperate to hear words of support – that I am on my way to achieving greater things, that I shouldn’t give up now. I need a family who can lead me through difficulties. I need a family who can be there for me always,” the ad read.

• The Joongang Daily writes, “Hwang is the perfect example of a generation now seeking to carve out its niche in a society still heavily influenced by Confucian gender roles.”

• But South Korea needs women like Hwang, even if the culture is not supportive. A very low birthrate and aversion to immigration is making it the fastest-aging country in the world. Maternity leave exists but few avail themselves of it, for fear of retribution.

The Joongang Daily report