The Korea Times
Kwon Soo-hang, a 33-year-old hairstylist in Daegu who asked to be identified by a pseudonym, showed his hands, their skin damaged and peeling. “My skin barrier broke down from repeated exposure to perm solution, and it became difficult even to bend my fingers,” he said. In November 2022, Kwon began working at a major hair salon franchise with hundreds of locations nationwide. At first, it seemed like the breakthrough he had waited for over a decade-long career, one that began at 18 with sweeping salon floors. But the job soon turned into something else: long hours, workplace abuse and little legal protection. Kwon said the problem began with the freelance contract he signed with the franchise salon. Under that contract, he said, he was made to work from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. or from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., six days a week. Weekends were included because they were the busiest days for customers. On average, he handled 12 to 13 customers a day and worked about 60 to 66 hours a week. Yet because he was classified as a freelancer, he said, he was not paid overtime or extra compensation for workin
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