Women in the Workforce

Written By Ana Traynin

Photos courtesy of Ana Traynin

Kim Mi-gyeong – Indoor Climber

 “In the beginning, my older brother was against me climbing, but when I won first place in a competition, he realized I was doing well and became proud of me.  My whole family continues to be proud of me.”

When Kim Mi Gyeong started rock climbing 28 years ago, there were no indoor climbing gyms in Korea. A post high-school winter trip to Jiri Mountain with friends led her up the rocks, and she has not stopped since. Now the owner of Duam-dong’s Extreme Climbing Center (ECC), Kim, 47, has turned a hobby into a lifelong passion and more than a job.

In the beginning, there were very few women participating in climbing and little opportunity available to them.

“These days, there are many women, even those who overtake men in climbing,” Kim said. “Regardless of age, gender, status, everyone can do it.”

Kim also met her husband while hiking. Now that their son is seven years old, he can also be seen at her gym and on the mountains. However, Kim says she is lucky to have her mother-in-law, who, from the beginning, has helped watch her son while she and her husband go out on climbs and expeditions.

The ECC has been open since 2006, with Kim taking over in 2011. She has become friends with several Gwangju native English teachers who have frequented the center over the years.  While many of her international climbing teammates have left Korea, Kim took the opportunity to meet a group of them in Bishop, California last year.

“It was my first trip abroad to meet foreigner friends, and I made another promise to do it again this year,” Kim said.

Besides rock climbing, Kim is also an alpine rescue teacher and has travelled to Japan and, recently, China for a conference.

“Climbing is very good exercise, more interesting than others,” Kim said. “You need to have a good mind, and it is a full-body sport. I want to continue this until I’m a grandmother.”

Kim hopes that besides other regular climbers, more university students and other foreigners in Gwangju will join her at her center and for outdoor climbing expeditions.

Extreme Climbing Center

• Monday – Friday 3 p.m. – 10 p.m, Gwangju, Buk-gu, Duam-dong 568-2 5F
• (Owner) Kim Mi Gyeong 010-8542-8611
• Bae Hoon Hee 010-9056-6355

Park So-Yeon – Subway Train Pilot

Since riding trains as a young girl, Suncheon native Park So-yeon dreamed of becoming a driver.  To achieve her dream, she graduated Korea National Railroad College University in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, the country’s only railroad university.

In 2013, Park applied to join the Gwangju Metro to be closer to her hometown. She was accepted as a train operator. Out of the 72 operators in the system, Park is one of only two women. At 27, she is also one of the youngest.

Park works nine hours per day, morning through afternoon. Her regular schedule is to work two full days, then one night and one day off. Although the trains are mostly automated, the drivers must stay alert. Park’s total driving time is 2.5 hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon.

“Because I work 4.5 hours in a closed area, I try to continue some exercise during the daytime to keep myself healthy.  What I like as a pilot is [that] I am given a lot of flexibility in managing my time.”

One issue that comes up for Park is driving alone.

“The difficulty I have is that there is only [one] pilot for each train, so I feel [its] burdensome. If there is an accident, I have to take care of it by myself.”

While the Gwangju Metro is not currently a big part of the city’s transportation system, Park says the addition of Line 2 will greatly expand its presence alongside buses and taxis. She noted the recent addition of the Honam KTX line at Songjeong Station, where the Metro is already connected, as another important development for the subway.

Although female taxi drivers are prevalent, and there has been an increase in female bus drivers, for those riding the trains, a female driver is still a novelty.

“The train piloting is mostly for males, not females,” Park said. “Passengers show strong interest in the fact that I am a rare female pilot. It is a closed area, so they can’t talk to me, but sometimes I can see them pointing and talking. Because I have a clear definition of my job, I don’t have any burden. In the beginning, I got a lot of help from my colleagues and supervisors.”

According to Park, less women work in managerial and technical positions, but they are working in civil engineering and signal management. She expects women’s roles to expand in the transportation field and elsewhere. “The barrier is being broken between males and females. With more equality, more women are active in different areas of society.”