South Korea: The gym is only for… “cultured and elegant women”

A gym in South Korea has banned entry to its women’s section, sparking controversy over discrimination against older women in the country.

The gym in the city of Incheon, near the capital, Seoul, posted a sign saying, “No ajummas” and “Only cultured and elegant women allowed.”

Ajumma is a slang term for older women—usually from their late 30s and up—but it’s also a pejorative for behavior considered rude or obnoxious.

What the owner said

Local reports did not name the gym or its owner, who defended the move, saying his company had “suffered losses” because of the women and their inappropriate behavior. According to the BBC.

“[Κάποιες ηλικιωμένες πελάτισσες] “They would spend an hour or two in the locker room washing their clothes, stealing things like towels, soap and hair dryers,” he said in a televised interview with South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.

“They would sit in line and comment and judge other people’s bodies,” she said, adding that some young women left the gym because of comments that upset them or made them feel uncomfortable.

Although this move was taken by only one gym, it seems to have struck a chord because in recent years, South Korean companies have come under heavy criticism for banning children or the elderly from entering some public places.

Critical comments

Some of this was considered evidence of increasing intolerance towards certain age groups.

The gym has also come under fire for conflating bad behavior with women of a certain age.

“How did the term ‘bad customer’ become the same as ‘agumma’?” said one comment on local social media site instiz.

“If you’ve worked in the service sector, you’ll know that older women don’t just fall into these categories,” she added.

Another comment described the move as a sign of outdated attitudes, citing “early 2000s sentiment.”