Sharing, Selling, Striving: The Gendered Labour of Female Social Entrepreneurship in South Korea

Abstract

This chapter looks at how South Korean young women were encouraged to become financially independent by being online entrepreneurs. It was shown that these young women very often explain their business success with their passion, their failure with their lack of grit. It is argued that instead of being free and independent, online entrepreneurs have to sell affective labour as well as commercial goods online. Young women also sexualise themselves regardless of the commercial goods that they sell; often they would wear bathing suits to sell unrelated product. Lastly, online businesses are seen as a way for mothers to rejoin the workforce while being dutiful mothers and housewives. A number of mother entrepreneurs frequently show pictures of them working while taking care of young children on social media sites.