Rich Evangelical Superwoman: God’s Blessings and Submissive Businesswomen in Neoliberal South Korea

Discussions concerning women’s economic engagement, including heightened participation in the workforce and an expanded presence in the public sphere, are frequently considered pivotal indicators for evaluating women’s autonomy. However, does the attainment of economic independence genuinely confer upon a woman the status of a free and self-determined individual? As one might expect, the answer is far from straightforward. This paper examines the case of a Korean evangelical businesswoman who runs a global franchise to explore the complexity of economic class and evangelical women’s freedom in the recent historical context following the 2008 Global Recession. By examining this case study, this paper aims to contribute to the discussion on the interconnectedness between class, gender, and liberation.

Bok-Yi Choi is the founder of Bon Juk, a global rice porridge franchise. Choi embarked on this business venture with her husband, starting from humble beginnings with just one store in 2002. Since opening its first location, Bon Juk has expanded to over 2,000 locations by 2021, steadily maintaining the largest market share among specialty rice porridge establishments in South Korea. Not only that, but her business has expanded beyond Korea. By 2019, her franchise chain grew to exceed 30 locations worldwide. Choi is also a devout evangelical woman. Since 2016, she has published four books of testimonies. For nearly 12 years, from December 17, 2012, to 2024, over 50 videos of her testimonies across various churches have been available on YouTube. Her narrative highlights how she exercised leadership to transform her company into a global franchise while navigating numerous challenges through her faith as an evangelical businesswoman. At the same time, it underscores her embodiment of evangelical womanhood, balancing the roles of a wise wife who submits to her husband and a mother who instructs her children to respect their father’s authority, thereby encapsulating her identity as a businesswoman and superwoman. 

Such a narrative reveals a paradoxical tension. Even while achieving economic success, she simultaneously embraces a subordinate role under her husband. And Choi is not alone. Notably, the substantial rise in testimonies from businesswomen like Choi began around 1997 and surged after 2010. What, then, does the absence of testimonies from evangelical businesswomen before 1997 and their growing prominence since 2010 signify?

This paper aims to explore the complex intersections of gender, faith, and class, demonstrating evangelical womanhood in the recent historical context. As this paper will examine in detail, evangelical businesswomen like Choi, despite their economic success, still —willingly or strategically— submit to patriarchal evangelical structures. By doing so, these women leverage their economic achievements to position themselves within the evangelical framework as exemplars of ideal womanhood — embodying both professional success and domestic devotion as faithful superwomen. By demonstrating their submission while achieving economic independence, evangelical businesswomen such as Choi can share their testimonies with numerous female believers. This submission allows her to navigate a limited form of agency within evangelical settings.

While many studies of Korean womanhood within Korean evangelicalism have focused on women as nurturers or their relationships with Western missionaries, this paper seeks to highlight the ways evangelical women have navigated dual roles at home and in the workplace in recent history as today, evangelical womanhood is no longer solely defined by domestic duties. They shoulder the dual challenge of sustaining their roles as nurturers at home and professionals in the workplace. By analyzing Choi’s testimony as a case study, it explores how evangelical businesswomen navigate economic instability while remaining embedded within a patriarchal framework. It examines evangelical businesswomen who continue to embrace submissive roles within the home and argues that evangelical businesswomen remain still submissive on the Cross—where economic success and patriarchal evangelicalism intersect.