VÌ SAO ĐÀN ÔNG HÀN QUỐC GIA TRƯỞNG?

When people think of South Korea they immediately picture vibrant K-pop television dramas as beautiful as paintings cosmetics flooding across Asia spotless subway trains and internet speeds as fast as the wind From the outside South Korea appears a modern society but inside it's a Korea that may lean somewhat patriarchal This could be verified by Vietnamese women who married South Koreans The modern aspect lies in the technology infrastructure and the way they shape their image in relation to the world The patriarchal mindset runs even deeper embedded in the way people think and interact with one another on a daily basis Being a head of household here is far more than just a husband shouting at his wife at home or hurling harsh words to get rid of a situation In traditional families the father's role centers on his near-automatic position as the decision-maker and primary voice within the household Women are typically expected to be sensible accommodating and adaptable Sometimes people don't stay silent because they want to but because speaking up means trouble making silence the safer choice That's why you might notice South Korea appearing somewhat contradictory at times But why is that the case To understand why Korea's patriarchal structure endures one must look to Confucianism—it's the deepest-rooted and most persistent influence For many centuries the Korean Peninsula lived almost entirely under the rigid structure of Confucian order Especially during the Joseon period which we still refer to as Jocheon At this stage society was structured according to a very clear formula Men stand above women stand below Men are the heads of the household holding the final say Women are bound by the three obediences and four virtues When young follow your father when married follow your husband when widowed follow your son Back then social order was not only based on wealth but also heavily influenced by gender and age The older man the man with seniority—by default he holds authority The key point is that modern South Korea has undergone rapid modernization Just a few decades after the war it rapidly rose to become an industrial high-tech and rapidly urbanizing nation But society changes far faster than people anticipate Houses roads and the internet can all be rebuilt within a single generation Beliefs about the roles of men and women are not so easily erased Today Confucianism is no longer openly taught as a dominant ideology No one would dare proclaim this is a Confucian society anymore But it hasn't disappeared entirely It lives on in the way people address each other—seniors and juniors mentors and protégés He lives in a corporate culture where subordinates rarely dare to argue with their superiors She lived under the expectations placed on women—must know her place be gentle and make sacrifices And it lives in the minds of many men Of course not every Korean man is patriarchal Yet some South Korean men are so deeply entrenched in patriarchal behavior that they themselves don’t even realize it They simply consider it normal and traditional This is quite different compared to Vietnam Vietnam was also significantly influenced by Confucianism and to no small extent But traditional Vietnamese society had another distinctive characteristic Women begin working and taking on family responsibilities at a very young age The image of a Vietnamese woman selling goods working in the fields and managing finances is not an unusual sight in many families Men are formally in charge but real power is more softly shared And now in some homes in Vietnam women might actually hold more power than men I wonder how it is in your household In Korea Confucianism was once enforced to an extreme degree with patriarchal family structures functioning as unquestioned deeply rooted and enduring mandates As society entered modernity external aspects changed rapidly yet that core way of thinking remained unchanged It is precisely this disconnect that creates the narrative tension: a society that appears remarkably modern yet operates under deeply outdated rules And somewhere in the workplace environment of South Korea one can sense this dynamic It must be clearly understood that patriarchy is not merely a domestic issue Moreover the term "family head" here can also refer to the role of a man in society And regarding hierarchical order things were much the same just as in Confucian society making change extremely difficult In the workplace South Koreans almost never address colleagues by their first names instead they use titles such as Chairman Kim The northern director or head of the Ly department and so on a person's name is always accompanied by their title and sometimes the title is even more important than the name itself It sounds very formal but in reality it also reflects a very outdated mindset Status matters more than personal merit What matters isn't who he is but rather the fact that he's sitting right there This becomes even clearer when he's an older man The older and more powerful a male official becomes the less likely anyone is to dare call him by his given name Young people especially women are often addressed by name directly or in a softer more affectionate manner Unintentionally it creates a very clear impression: men are above women and younger people below Outside of work daily life is much the same Koreans tend to avoid calling people directly by name especially those older than themselves They address each other by role by relationship by position within the group in the office in the company Every form of address is a reaffirmation of hierarchy Who speaks first who listens second who is chairman who is director Who is the department head who is the team leader Compared to Vietnam it's different here We do use formal titles sometimes but mostly we just call people by their names It's still him A—B calls him by his first name to make him feel more at ease In Korea though you address your superior by their full name directly especially older men it's almost unimaginable—unless they're very close or in an extremely special setting Looking at how names are used in Korea makes this immediately clear There a family head doesn't need to shout or impose authority It's embedded in every phrase and everyday way of addressing one another Keep calling it that and over time everyone grows accustomed to it and accepts it And the hierarchy—men superiors elders—has always occupied the highest positions enduring deeply and persistently And one of the deepest roots of this mindset—we might temporarily refer to it as Korean patriarchalism— Typically it stems from how they raise their children specifically their sons From a young age many South Korean boys even though no one says it outright but growing up with nearly daily messages that were repeated over and over: Boys must be strong boys must be capable A son must succeed one day become the head of the family earn a lot of money surpass women and support the entire household These messages aren't always spoken aloud but rather instilled through the way adults behave as expected by the family in comparison with others The issue is that South Korean society is once again an extremely high-pressure one where academic competition is harsh from a young age and entering university is already a matter of life and death Graduating and entering a fiercely competitive job market where workdays are long and overtime culture is burdensome Then there's the matter of money buying a house getting married— everything is expensive everything is difficult In a society like this Not every man achieves the ideal of success they were taught to pursue from a young age And when people fail to achieve the status society promises many begin to accumulate discontent That discontent can turn into hatred toward women into a feeling of being disrespected overlooked And from there arises the desire to control—controlling one's lover controlling one's wife controlling those who are weaker o regain the feeling of being in control Even more dangerous is the fact that those men themselves don't realize they're leaving the institution ey simply believed they were fulfilling the role of a man as they should but it was precisely this cycle—high expectations intense pressure failure—that defined their struggle ransferring frustration onto women has nurtured patriarchal attitudes in some South Korean men across generations persisting to this day It's still far from easy to resolve Even in South Korea research has already been conducted According to a 2017 report by the Korean Institute of Criminology Nearly 80% of South Korean respondents admitted tha Hearing that number the first reaction from many people is disbelief— unbelievable it couldn't possibly be that high But if you place it in context— In this country that figure isn 't hard to understand In local thinking the boundary between love and control is often very thin Many people grow up believing that love means possession concern means control and jealousy is seen as a sign of deep affection And no new love means no passion Therefore actions considered highly provocative in many other countries should not be seen that way anywhere else It's easy to seem overly controlling Constantly calling to check where your girlfriend is who she's with and limiting her friendships like someone of the opposite sex interfering with your clothing choices saying you can't wear things that way even controlling your money and spending habits To many all of this isn't violence but an expression of care and concern for the other person Even more concerning is that many women also grew up with this same mindset When controlled even in some subtle way Their first reaction was not accusation or resistance instead many turned inward wondering if it was somehow their own behavior that had caused it Is it not good enough or is it because I'm the one making him making him angry That's precisely why so many things can come as a surprise South Korea rose from the ashes of war to become an economic powerhouse transforming from a poor nation into a global economic force War has become a center of technology But perhaps human thinking will require even more time to change Thank you for following this story What are your thoughts Have you ever worked with or chatted w Or is it something like that with a South Korean man Share your thoughts in the comments below If you find this interesting please hit the subscribe button turn on notifications and share Now please don't say goodbye Farewell