Ryu Yi-seo, Seong Hae-eun reveal strict flight attendant hierarchy

Former flight attendants turned influencers Ryu Yi-seo and Seong Hae-eun have revealed the strict hierarchy and so-called 'military-style culture' they experienced in the aviation industry. From cases where juniors had to make morning calls to match a senior's wake-up time and manage their personal items, to an atmosphere where titles and behavior were strictly controlled based on seniority, the two women's testimonies reveal a side of organizational culture hidden behind the glamorous image of the profession.

On the 10th, Ryu invited Seong to her YouTube channel 'My Love Ryu Yi-seo' for a video titled 'Morning Calls are Mandatory: Former Flight Attendants Ryu Yi-seo and Seong Hae-eun Reveal Unprecedented Military-Style Stories for the First Time.' Based on their experiences working as cabin crew at Asiana Airlines and Korean Air respectively, the two discussed the working environment and organizational atmosphere of that time.

Seong, who worked for Korean Air, said, "They say it had subsided a bit during our time, but I heard that in the old days, you had to do morning calls for seniors and even wash their stockings." She explained that while the hierarchy had eased significantly during her tenure compared to the past, she had heard stories from times when the relationship between seniors and juniors was much stricter than it is now. Ryu added to the account, saying, "We did do the morning calls."

Ryu specifically described a situation where she was in charge of a senior flight attendant's morning call while staying abroad. Because of time differences, she would call to ensure the senior could wake up at the designated time, reporting, "Senior, this is [Name] from [Batch Number]. Have you woken up? It is [Time]." Ryu explained that as times changed, managers shifted the atmosphere toward eliminating the morning call practice, and the culture gradually disappeared.

When her husband, Jun Jin, asked, "What happens if you don't make the morning call?" Ryu replied in essence that "it would be a big problem." This part of the conversation hints at the intensity of a practice that functioned as a kind of ritual to maintain senior-junior relationships beyond simple business contact.

Seong also mentioned the issue of titles based on seniority and age. She explained that even if a senior appeared younger than her, if they were higher in rank or seniority, she had to call them 'Unnie' (older sister), and if she used the wrong title, the senior would sometimes make it an issue. She noted that title norms also differed by gender, such as using the title 'Sunbaenim' (senior) rather than 'Oppa' (older brother) for male flight attendants.

These cases are not unrelated to the specific nature of flight attendant organizations. For every flight, a limited number of cabin crew must collaborate closely, and in the event of a safety accident, they must move according to an immediate command structure. Because the division of roles and accuracy of communication among crew members are important in the closed space of an aircraft, a certain level of professional hierarchy is inevitable.

The problem is that the command structure required for job performance and a hierarchy that invades the private sphere are separate issues. When the distinction of authority and responsibility required for safety and operational efficiency turns into lifestyle control based on seniority, organizational culture can easily take the form of 'military discipline.' The cases of morning calls and personal item management shared by the two show exactly where this boundary collapsed.

The fact that Ryu expanded her field into broadcasting and influencer activities after working for a long time at Asiana Airlines adds context to this story. Ryu finished her career as a flight attendant after marrying Jun Jin of the group Shinhwa in 2020, and has revealed her process of transitioning from an office worker to a broadcaster through shows like SBS 'Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny.'

Seong became known to the public after appearing on the TVING original 'EXchange 2' while working as a Korean Air flight attendant. Since then, she has expanded her field into broadcasting and influencer activities. As they have transitioned from service workers wearing airline uniforms to creators who produce their own content, their professional histories draw attention to the organizational culture of the aviation industry.

Flight attendants are commonly perceived by the public as a profession with sophisticated uniforms, an international working environment, and high service expertise. However, the actual work involves long flights, adjusting to time differences, responding to unexpected situations, managing passenger safety, and close collaboration with colleagues. Because of this, the internal discipline and top-down culture were often somewhat justified by the nature of the job.

However, as organizational culture changes across the industry, these practices are being re-examined. As Seong noted, "It had subsided a bit during our time," suggesting that the coercive hierarchy of the past cannot be viewed as the current standard for flight attendant culture. The stories shared by the two are personal accounts of what they experienced or heard, and should not be generalized to all modern airlines.

This conversation is significant because it goes beyond mere anecdotes about 'strict discipline' to show how organizational culture evolves across generations. While seniority was once the key mechanism for maintaining order, recent values have shifted toward professional expertise and horizontal communication that respects individual rights.

Ultimately, the stories of 'morning calls' and 'washing stockings' are less about mere exposure and more about the traces of a hierarchical culture that persisted as a custom in service labor. Determining where to draw the line between necessary professional discipline and the infringement of personal dignity remains a challenge not just for flight attendant organizations, but for workplace culture in Korean society as a whole.