Where are all the women?

TV still dominated by males

By Kwon Ji-youn

Poster for JTBC’s “Old House, New House” / Courtesy of JTBC

Over the last few years, TV shows have delved into household tasks long considered the domain of women — but what’s conspicuously absent on the small screen is women themselves.

There have been shows about fathers taking care of children, male chefs cooking food and male TV personalities designing homes.

MBC’s “Dad! Where Are We Going?” and KBS’s “The Return of Superman” both featured men looking after their children while their mothers took the day off, and male celebrity chefs including Baek Jong-won, Choi Hyun-seok and Sam Kim cooked up a storm in entertainment last year.

With “cook TV” steadily losing luster, broadcasters now have their sights set on turning interior design into the latest entertainment fad. Even there, the central figures are men.

So where are all the women?

“2015 was all about men,” comedian Kim Sook told a talk show. “The chefs who spearheaded the cooking craze were mostly male and all the nominees for top entertainment awards in 2015 were men. Women entertainers had no place in entertainment.”

Household management, in Korean society and most other societies around the world, is still considered a job mainly for women, and yet they have disappeared from most of the cooking, interior design and infant care shows that broadcasters have spent the last three years banking on.

The emcees of “House Cook Master Baek” are all men, from chef Baek Jong-won through singer Yoon Sang, and “Old House, New House,” a new design show on JTBC, features emcees Jeon Hyun-moo and Kim Gu-ra along with a star panel that includes TV personality Hong Seok-cheon, designer Hwang Jae-keun, comedian Jung Jun-ha and singer Jung Joon-young, among others — chiefly men. The cast for tvN’s “My Room’s Dignity” is comprised of four hosts and two experts, all male. Women settle for supporting roles or guest appearances.

In fact, most entertainment shows, even those unrelated to housework, are dominated by male celebrities.

The five stars of “Infinite Challenge” are male, as are the four emcees of MBC’s “Radio Star” and the five hosts of KBS’s “Two Days and One Night.” Song Ji-hyo, an actress, is the only female cast member of SBS’s “Running Man,” and just one woman appears on tvN’s “Wednesday Food Talk” and MBC’s “I Live Alone.” Only male celebrities take part in tvN’s “Problematic Men,” a quiz show.

According to culture critic Ha Jae-keun, the sight of women doing housework is too familiar to be entertaining.

“And more women watch more television than men, which makes male emcees and entertainers more attractive to cast,” Ha said in a phone interview. “Also, more men live alone nowadays, and they find it easier to identify with and learn from other clumsy males than skilled housewives.

“But all that aside, men have always held sway over entertainment. Themes and motifs may change, but that won’t. Women don’t particularly enjoy making fun of themselves or looking anything less than beautiful on camera, nor do they fancy being placed under surveillance for long hours, which is what today’s reality shows are all about. It’s not a trend I see changing any time soon,” he said.