Korean Gifted Girls: The Achieved and the Unachieved

Abstract

To identify the factors which facilitate or hinder personal career advancement of Korean gifted females, 162 graduates from the most prestigious girls' high school in Korea were studied using qualitative methods and in particular, documents such as alumnae records, questionnaires and interviews. Half of the gifted females had been included in a publication entitled ‘Korean Eminent Women’ and the other half were full-time housewives. The two groups were compared on their perceptions of their family background, school experiences, career development, career choices, life and marriage satisfaction, and attribution of their success and failure as professional women. Results indicated that gifted girls whose aspirations for career development were supported by their families and who were determined to advance in their careers achieved in their professional lives. The results imply that in Korean society, which remains a “patriarchal democracy” only those gifted females who were strong enough in their own convictions to discount the pressures of stereotypical attitudes limiting women's role in society to that of mothers and housewives, could achieve in their careers.