Between invisibility and having a voice: The marginalization of gendered non-fiction writers in the South Korean television industry

Abstract

This article examines how gendered workers experience invisibility in the South Korean television industry, focusing on writers who produce non-fiction programs, such as journalism shows and documentaries. Based on my in-depth interviews with 41 research participants, I reveal how the patriarchal, capitalist, and intensely hierarchical labour management in the industry has shaped an invisible writing workforce who are mostly women. Specifically, my research suggests that the exploitation of this invisible writing workforce takes two forms: the devaluation and underpayment of their labour and putting to work their marginalized subjectivities to enhance the quality of the programs in the production process. Finally, this research shows how writers recognize themselves as invisible workers and understand their invisibility as a form of discrimination and exclusion.