Changing masculine ideals of South Korean men

“I was delivered a business card from a "male massage parlour," whose masseurs travel to homes to provide private massage services to female clients. Below the masseur's phone number, it read, "I will do my best." Park Soo-mee, 33, Seoul

A social transition is taking place in South Korea. More and more men are working in the service sector; something once thought to be purely for women. Added to this, South Korean men are increasingly open to the idea of providing professional services for women's pleasure. Ten years ago this would have been a serious sign of incompetence. But now the positions of many women have become stable enough that they can choose men who meet their needs as active consumers, in the way that men used to choose women. It's a period of adjustment for women, and a giant shift for men, who over the past five decades have been taught masculine ideals in the military.

Most Korean men still have to spend up to three years of their precious youth secluded from ordinary life, surrounded by guns. But it's no longer a public disgrace for them to work in a service industry where more than half of the consumers are women. The lure of money, enjoyment and egalitarianism is changing men’s attitudes and behaviours. An increasing number of them now openly display their distaste for fulfilling their military obligations. Some of those who are enlisted end up becoming "flower men," working for trendy restaurants in Seoul.