- The controversy occurs after writing a note in a gym in Incheon, near Seoul.
A gym in South Korea has been criticized for posting a sign reading “only elegant women allowed” in an apparent attempt to exclude older women from using the premises.
The gym, which is located in the city of Incheon, near the capital Seoul, posted a sign reading “no access to ajummas.”
‘Ajumma’ is a term widely used in Korean to refer to women aged 30 or older, but can also be used to describe rude or unpleasant behavior.
Local reports did not name the gym or its owner, who was quick to defend the posting of the notice, citing the claim that his business had “suffered damage” due to these women and their unruly behavior.
In an interview with South Korean news agency Yonhap, via BBC News, he said: ‘(Some older customers who are women) would spend an hour or two in the changing room to wash clothes (and) steal items such as towels, soaps, or hair dryers.
A gym in South Korea has been criticized for posting a sign saying “only elegant women allowed”
He added that they would also “sit in rows and comment and judge other people’s bodies.”
The owner also noted that some younger women chose to give up their memberships because the comments upset or made them uncomfortable.
She continued: “It’s not that I was trying to make a hateful comment against older women or women in general.”
“I think the people who are angry about (the notice) are actually the ones who have the problem.”
While the owner defended his actions, the gym has also been criticized by users on social media for assuming that such examples of bad behavior were associated with women of a certain age.
A comment on local platform instiz read: “How did the term “bad customer” come to be the same as “ajumma?”
“If you’ve worked in the service sector, you know that it’s not just older women who fall into those categories.”
Another commenter said the decision was a sign of outdated attitudes and described it as relating to “early 2000s sentiments.”
In response, the gym defended itself by saying that an additional notice had been written attempting to make a distinction between ‘ajummas’ and women.
File image of a young woman exercising in a gym using a dumbbell
He says that the former liked “free things regardless of their age,” while accusing them of being “stingy with their own money but not with other people’s.”
Although there has been widespread reaction to the notice, some people supported the measure, apparently associating bad manners with middle-aged women.
Commenters harassed them for being “territorial” and “nonsense.”
Another posted on YouTube said: ‘Women are annoying… They take their children to restaurants and cafes. “They are alien and abusive.”
The people who supported the gym’s actions also made reference to children, accusing these women of taking up excessive space or attention in public.
South Korea has been characterized by setting uncompromising standards when it comes to women and their behavior, which has led them to respond by defending short hair and being single.
File image of a young woman wiping sweat after exercising in a gym.
To justify their actions, many women say that South Korean men are rarely judged for similar behavior.
Commenting on the controversy, a psychology professor said the gym did not need to single out women at all, arguing that older men are just as likely to behave badly.
Speaking to JTBC television, Park Sang-hee said: “Older men behave the same.”
‘Older men also become obsessed with free things and repeat themselves over and over again. Rude behavior is not exclusive to older women.’
