"I'll Give You 100,000 Won If You Call Out My Husband's Mistress"... Unusual Job Posts Go Viral Amid Backlash for 'Crossing the Line'

Portrait of Single-Person Households, the Era of Unusual Recruitment on Danggeun
A Society Where Deepening Individualization Turns Even Help into Transactions

Recently, unusual listings posted on Danggeun’s community-based secondhand marketplace job service “Danggeun Alba” have repeatedly become a hot topic, exposing both facets of a personalized society and safety concerns at the same time. These listings go beyond simple odd jobs and show even the “private sphere” becoming an object of transaction.

On February 23, a post titled “Looking for someone to wake me up every morning” appeared on the Danggeun Alba board in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Identifying himself as an adult office worker, the poster wrote, “I’m late every day,” and requested, “I’ll give you my home door lock password, so please come in and wake me up, whether by hitting me or splashing water.”

The pay was 10,000 won per day, about 220,000 won per month. The post was registered under the “school drop-off and pick-up helper” category, and the person to be cared for was set as “male child / elementary school student or older,” which many found amusing. The listing quickly spread on social media. Some commented, “Isn’t this the perfect side job?” and “It’s good enough to do just for the exercise,” while many others voiced concern, saying, “It’s dangerous to give a stranger your home door lock password,” and “This could be exploited for crime.”

Foreign car required, even calling out an adulterous woman... The ugly side of boundary-crossing 'odd jobs'

Recently, unusual listings posted on Danggeun’s job recruitment service "Danggeun Alba" on the community-based secondhand marketplace have repeatedly become a hot topic, exposing both facets of a personalized society and safety concerns. The photo is an AI-generated image to aid understanding of the article.

Beyond this first job post, another listing also stirred controversy. This particular job post was for a child pickup part-time job that explicitly stated only “foreign car owners” could apply. The conditions offered 10,000 won per trip for two trips a day, each within 20 minutes of driving. Some criticized the requirement of owning a specific type of car as encouraging class-based discrimination. Others questioned its realism, saying, “Would a foreign car owner apply for this amount?” and “10,000 won for a 20-minute drive is lower than a taxi fare.” There were also voices pointing out that the very perception of treating a foreign car as a marker of trust is problematic.

Furthermore, last year there was a controversial listing seeking someone to call down a female secretary, who had an affair with the employer’s husband, to the first floor of her office building. The job offered 100,000 won per day and even specified the condition “woman in her 30s.” Online commenters responded both with “I’d do it even just for the transportation money” and with concerns that “there is a risk of trespassing and defamation.” In fact, there was a damages ruling in 2017 in a case where a person went to their spouse’s affair partner’s workplace and caused a disturbance. Experts point out that “outsourcing private retaliation in the form of a part-time job can lead to legal liability.”

Recently, unusual listings posted on Danggeun's region-based secondhand marketplace job service Danggeun Alba have repeatedly attracted attention, revealing both facets of a personalized society and safety concerns.

An era of 8 million single-person households... A society that solves even 'help' through transactions

Not all of these cases, however, only generate controversy. During last year’s Christmas season, a “one-day Santa” part-time job recorded a competition rate of 217 to 1. Neighbors selected as Santa visited children’s homes to deliver presents and received 30,000 won per household as an activity fee. Around 20,000 people applied, and more than 28,000 households signed up, showing an enthusiastic response. Stories such as “We thought Santa didn’t come to our house because we live too far away,” and parents saying, “I want to protect my child’s sense of wonder,” are cited as examples that demonstrate the positive functions of local communities.

In addition, there was a post offering 30,000 won to “catch a cockroach that came out into the bedroom,” a listing recruiting someone to pull out gray hairs at an hourly rate of 20,000 won, a “waiting-in-line job” asking someone to stand in line at a popular restaurant on one’s behalf, as well as dishwashing jobs, all of which show people outsourcing the resolution of trivial everyday problems to others. This phenomenon is intertwined with the increase in single-person households. Statistics show that the number of single-person households in Korea has exceeded 8 million. In other words, one out of every three households is a “single-person household.”

In a situation where people lack acquaintances they can ask for help, the platform functions as an “immediate problem-solving channel.” Sociologists interpret this phenomenon in connection with the deepening of individualization. They analyze that as the number of acquaintances one can ask for favors decreases, the practice of purchasing help in the market is spreading. The platform quickly connects this demand. The problems lie in safety, legal liability, and ethical standards. Danggeun emphasizes that its purpose is to connect local help within the community. At the same time, some criticize that the platform is being excessively used as a conduit for resolving private matters.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.