2023 Peer-Reviewed Study on Sexual Harassment in the South Korean Film Industry
Authors: Lee, Moon, & Na-Young Lee (2023)
Source: Analysis based on the 2019 Korean Film Industry Sexual Violence Survey
1. What Percentage of Women Are Sexually Harassed?
According to the 2019 Korean Film Industry Sexual Violence Survey (n = 449 women):
🟥 49.67% of female respondents reported experiencing at least one form of workplace sexual violence in the past two years.
This is significantly higher than general workplace harassment rates in South Korea:
- 61.5% of women in the film industry had experienced sexual violence at least once (2017 Korean Film Council).
- By contrast, the rate in public/private companies was only 14.2%.
2. Correlation Between Higher Education and Harassment
The study reveals a positive correlation between higher educational attainment and the likelihood of experiencing sexual violence —contradicting the assumption that less educated women are more vulnerable.
🎓 Women with a master's degree or higher had significantly higher odds (OR = 3.065) of experiencing workplace sexual violence than those with only a high school education (p < .05).
📚 Theoretical Interpretation
This supports the Power-Threat Model , which proposes that:
"Women with authority, such as those in a higher position, with higher educational attainment... are more likely to be harassed... as a means of protecting hegemonic masculinities or homosocial networks."
In other words, educated, empowered women are often seen as threats to male-dominated environments and may be targeted in retaliation.
🔁 Backlash Effect and Intersectional Risks
Other key risk factors included:
- Union membership
- Younger age
These findings point to a post-#MeToo backlash , where women perceived as feminist or progressive are deliberately punished through sexual violence in an attempt to reassert traditional power hierarchies.