1.4 Feminist Movement in South Korea

In this paragraph I am going to figure out and analyze the very emergence of the activist feminist movement in South Korea. In order to understand the very nature of South Korean feminism, it is better to take the historical background of its emergence into a consideration. Korea, geographically situated between two major powers in East Asia: Japan and China. Korea (even before the split) had to struggle for its own national and cultural identity. The dramatic changes in social status of women emerged during the period of Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula. In this colonial period there emerged several independence movements, including those that were organized solely by women. In this case feminism and Nationalism were not on different sides of the barricades. Nationalism itself invoked women for the fight for their future, for family, for the country and nation Such sort of feminism can be called nationalist feminism, it was supported through opposition to sex slavery. Relation between Korean Nationalism and Feminism, promoting the ideas of relations between war and women`s oppression is clear.⁴⁶

The period from the end of WWII till the beginning of 1960s can be called vacuum of the women`s movement. The constitution of the Republic of Korea (1948) prohibited any discrimination towards women, recognized right for women to get education. Korean War (1950-1953) was a trigger that motivated women`s movement – it focused on the introduction of the law reform.

The protest movement on the Korean Peninsula in the 1960s can be characterized with one word – minjung. Korean women movement developed in deep connection with this movement. Minjung stems from the suffrage movement of the working women. The problem is, women were the main start-up capital for the economic miracle in South Korea.⁴⁷

As the minjung movement was growing, the feminist analysis of this movement, especially in connection with the most oppressed women – urban and poor ones. Here we can also see some traits of the post-colonial feminist analysis, in which women were considered as “the oppressed of oppressed”. South Korea, actually is also the post-colonial country – the main difference of ROK from the other post-colonial countries: when the most part of today Third World countries were colonized by the European countries (Great Britain, France, Spain, Germany), Korea was colonized by the Asian country- Japan. Despite specific features, post-colonial theory is totally available for South Korea.⁴⁸

However, we can analyze the women`s liberation movement not only from the post-colonial point of view. In this case it is worth paying attention to the socialist and Marxist feminist views in interpretation of gender and class oppression. Mijung movement`s ideology is based on the idea of oppression of the laboring masses, including destruction of the national identity. Minjung movement, as populist one, included socially active part of the South Korean society: students, intellectuals, workers, peasants, church activists, journalists, writers, cultural workers. Minjung feminism includes two major stages. The first one is about struggles between female factory workers and governmental forces. The second one is not about demonstrational, but organizational and practical forms. ⁴⁹

Here is an example of women`s movement during Park Chun Hee`s regime – Yo`Kong Undong (Factory Girls` movement). Those females were involved in different sectors of the rising economy: machinery, hardware, agriculture, chemical industry. They also experienced terrible housing circumstances, living in tiny dormitory barracks, called “chicken coops”. The potentially explosive situation resulted in formation of the democratic union movement throughout the 1970s when labor rights were completely suspended under martial law. ⁵⁰

The women managed to hold on to leadership and keep the union democratic for 6 years. For instance, Lee So Sun was a leader of the Garment Makers Union (Chunggye Pibok Union) - and she coped with this responsibility till the very end of the Chun Doo Hwan`s rule. The union provided opportunity for about 20.000 women for speaking and sharing opinions, demands, complaints.⁵¹

Minjung movement was something that politicized struggles of the female workers, showing it as class-based movement. For instance, Maria Chol Soon Rhie states this fact. Rhie was an organizer of the Committee for Asian Women, who did not start as a feminist. In her works she notices that the suicide of the worker Chun Tae Il impressed her and inspired for activist work. She worked in the factory for 3 years in order to understand needs of average workers – after 2 years of the work she organized the professional Union. She claims that it is quite difficult to be aware of all the problems women workers face. Moreover, it is easier for factory workers to recognize their problems that for women which were brought up in the atmosphere of oppression. According to her, true democratic changes will come through the women`s movement – democracy must include women`s democracy. Rhie is sure that females need their voice to be heard – that is why women`s liberation movement should stay separately from the democratic movement in general.⁵²

During the 1970s female workers were fighting for their rights, supporting foundation for the following minjung movements: Dongsu, Pangrim, Songsa, Dongil etc. During the rule of Park Chun Hee the future of movements was unclear, however, the culmination of minjung`s activity happened during the Gwangju uprising. The death of Park triggered the democratic potential and raised the hope for the political and social changes. Gwangju massacre was something that radicalized and triggered the student, labor and women minjung movements and at the same time threw off all the disguise of the new president`s regime, resulting in the credibility crisis. ⁵³

At that time only few female groups were working on the problem of improvement of women`s status. The big number of women groups were working together with CKWO (Council of Korean Women`s Organizations), governmental umbrella organization of female groups. In fact, CKWO supported traditional patriarchal institutions and governmental policy, not paying much attention on the women`s interests. Speaking about non-governmental organizations, the Christian Academy and the Women`s Association of Korean Churches (1973) established education programs for middle-class and agricultural women. Anyway, these programs helped to produce active and motivated women, that were later involved in minjung movement in 1980s.

In 1980s Korean feminism was not like the second wave feminism in the Western world, where women created a separate, autonomous female movement. Korean female movement at that time was not separated from the political Democracy movement.⁵⁴ More organized theoretically and politically women`s movement became in the middle of 1980s. Female students and scholars (especially from Ewha University, the first university aimed at girls` and women`s education) supported organization of education for women, founding first female courses, discussions and seminars. On special meeting there was provided information on Korean history from the feminist viewpoint, on female literature, on the problem of human rights and division of the Korean peninsula. ⁵⁵

Development of the movement against the dictatorship happened at the same time with the women`s one. For instance, in 1985 activists organized a giant convention “Women`s Movement in Unity with National Democratic Minjung Movement” – in other words strike of almost 50000 women in one of the central Seoul`s areas. ⁵⁶

At that time (1987) also one of the primary women`s organizations emerged – KWAU (Korean Women`s Associations United) – at first it was a coalition of 33 worker, peasant, environmental, research and housewives organization. ⁵⁷ Its activists were involved in minjung movement and that became clear that KWAU had to operate among minjung movement activists, in the atmosphere of the national struggles for democratization.⁵⁸

In the end of 1980s – early 1990s women`s movement experienced a dramatic change in its direction and strategy. For instance, the sexual violence became one of the main topics, in the center of public debate. It was the first time for the South Korean society when the sexual assault got such a wide attention in media. At that time women movement representatives managed to overcome ideological splits of the previous times and could build the united gender-specific movement, opposed to the military regime. In 1990s there emerged several new features of the feminist movement: internationalization of domestic women`s issues, expansion of alliances between different female groups, legitimization of progressive female organizations.⁵⁹

Again, the sharpest problem of this time was the question of cooperation with the governmental institutions. One of the directions in this case was problem of the sexual violence. Female organizations supported the foundation of the Women`s Council against Sexual Violence and the Joint Committee against Sexual Violence. That was a sign that gender-specific topic became almost equal to nationalist and interclass struggles. However, women`s movement activists were sure that female problems should be solved in deep connection with labor, democracy and reunification issues. The thing is, sexual issues give more impact to the democracy movement. ⁶⁰