Three Axes of Stratification: Gender, Occupational Hierarchy and Work Arrangements in Korean Cultural Consumption

• In Event: Asia and Asian American Section Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 12: Asia and Asian America Section Roundtable - Work and Labor

Abstract

This study investigates how occupational status and work arrangement intersect to shape gendered patterns of cultural consumption among Korean workers. In South Korea, a dual labor market characterized by a sharp divide between full-time and part-time work, alongside a rigid occupational hierarchy with a persistent gender gap, creates disparate life chances for workers. Although gender and labor market position constitute pivotal intersecting axes of stratification, few studies have explored how these dynamics intertwine regarding cultural consumption within this specific context. To address this gap, we follow Lizardo’s (2006) explanation that women’s greater highbrow cultural consumption is linked to labor force participation and gendered business culture, while shifting the analytical focus toward omnivorous consumption patterns. We examine the moderating effect of occupational status—blue-collar, lower white-collar, and upper white-collar—on gender differences in cultural consumption across different work arrangements (full-time vs. part-time). Drawing on the data from 2024 National Culture and Arts Activity Survey, we employ logistic regression to analyze two dimensions of consumption: overall and omnivorous cultural consumption. The findings indicate that while women exhibit significantly higher odds of overall consumption regardless of their work arrangements or occupational status, the female predominance in omnivorous consumption is exclusive to full-time workers. Notably, the results support a significant moderation effect of occupational status within the full-time group: as individuals ascend the occupational hierarchy, the predicted probability of both overall and omnivorous consumption increases more steeply for women than for men. These results underscore the necessity of integrating labor market dynamics into the study of gendered cultural consumption.

Authors

• Jihwan Kim, Yonsei University

• Joon Han, Yonsei University