Gender and labor ethics in aesthetic labor: Female students of specialized vocational home economics high schools in Korea

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis study begins by asking why the aesthetic labor industry in Korea has been in the limelight, and related disciplines have been on the rise in secondary and higher education as of the mid-2000s. This has happened along with the popularization of digital media and the expansion of the ‘Korean wave’ as of the 2010s. This study focuses on the common practice for female students from specialized vocational high schools to work in aesthetic labor today, such as the cosmetics, fashion or beauty business. It seeks to examine the phenomenon of female students who enter these schools in order to work in the fashion and beauty industries and understand the relationship between the educational system and the cultural meanings they assign to aesthetic labor. It will also explore the correlation between their motivation to undertake such labor and the gendered policy of specialized vocational high school education. This work thereby examines the intersection of neo-liberal labor ethics and gender in Korean society.