Women, gender issues in Korea.
1. In traditional Korean
society, women's roles were confined to the home. From a young age, women were
taught the virtues of subordination and endurance to prepare for their future
roles as wife and mother. Women in general could not participate in society as
men did, and their role was limited to household matters. Traditionally, the
purpose of marriage was to produce a male heir to carry on the family line and
not to provide mutual companionship and support for husband and wife. Marriages
were arranged. A go-between or matchmaker, usually a middle-aged woman,
carried on the negotiations between the two families involved who, because of a
very strict law of exogamy, sometimes did not know each other and often lived
in different communities. The bride and groom met for the first time at the
marriage ceremony. Prohibitions on the marriages between the members of one
surname group (with one place of provenance) – were enforced until very recently. Choson Dynasty law prohibited widows from remarrying,
though a similar prohibition was not extended to widowers. Further, the sons and grandsons of widows who defied
the ban, like children of secondary wives, were not allowed to take the civil
service examinations and become scholar-officials. In the traditional society, only men could obtain a
divorce. A husband could divorce his spouse if she were barren--barrenness
being defined simply as the inability to bear sons. Even if a husband did not divorce his wife, he had the right to take a second
wife, although the preferred solution for a man without a son during the
Choson Dynasty was to adopt a son of one of his brothers, if available. The
incompatibility of a wife and her in-laws was another ground for divorce. Traditionally,
men and women were strictly segregated, both inside and outside the house. Yangban
women spent most of their lives in seclusion in the women's chamber. Economic
necessity gave women of the lower classes some freedom as they participated in
farm work and sometimes earned supplemental income through making and selling
things. The only women being able to conduct any independent activity outside
being the members of the lowest strata of the society (shamans and female
entertainers – kisaeng), female independence and activity were
usually looked down upon as the symbols of base status and economical
insecurity. Overall: strictly patriarchal society where female gender role was defined
as subservient, subsidiary, family- and husband-centered, and all deviations
from this rule considered to betray “low status” and “low moral qualities”.
Sin Yunbok’s (1758-?) famous painting,
“Listening to music and enjoying lotus flowers” (聽琴賞蓮)
The female entertainers (kisaeng)
visible on this picture, were among the few women in traditional Korea who had
access to classical education – and practically the only ones able to socialize
outside of their houses. Some of them became famed poets and musicians.
Other
painting by Sin Yunbok showing two female shamans dancing with two swords each
(雙劍對舞). Female shamans were considered “lowborn” people,
but in reality they were among these few commoners women who could actively
participate in the social life and acquire some influence in the society.
Shamanism was the main staple of the everyday religious life of the Korean
commoners, and the majority of shamans were female.
One
more Sin Yunbok’s painting, which show a female shaman conducting a religious
ceremony (巫女神舞). The male drummers are acting as her
aides.
Here
Sin Yunbok shows a female innkeeper treating her guests to some rice
vine (酒肆擧盃). The commoners’ women had relatively
more freedom in their social interactions than the strictly segregated upper
class females.
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2. The situation began to change with the opening of the
country to the outside world during the late 19th century. During this period,
modern schools were introduced, mostly by Western Christian missionaries. Some
of these schools were founded with the specific goal of educating women. Ehwa
Woman's University, the most prestigious women's institution, began as a
primary school established by Methodist missionaries in 1886 and achieved
university status after 1945. Chongsin Girls' School and Paehwa Girls'
School were founded in 1890 and 1898, respectively, in Seoul. Songui Girls' School
was established in 1903 in P'yongyang. These educated women began to engage in
the arts, teaching, religious work, and enlightening other women. Gender
discrimination started to be seen as the symbol of Korean “backwardness” and
“lack of civilization”, which was to be “removed” in order to “strengthen the
country” and make it “competitive” (very similar with Meiji project). It meant
basically that male-centered/family-centered values of the past were to be
replaced by the “nation”-centered “modern” nationalism/patriotism (also far cry
from the idea of the independent womanhood as conceived now).
Esther
Pak (1877-1910) – Korea’s first modern female doctor. Born a daughter of a
missionary’s Korean maid, she graduated first from Ewha school and then –
already being a Christian convert – went to USA to obtain a medical degree in
Baltimore. The study abroad was possible for her, because her husband, also a
Christian, agreed to support her (he worked as an agricultural laborer in the
USA to provide her with tuition money). On having returned to Korea, Pak worked
at a newly built female hospital, but soon died of tuberculosis.
During the Japanese Colonial period, women also took part in the
independence movement against the Japanese occupation, and displayed no less
vigor, determination, and courage than men. March 1 Movement of 1919 – 471
women and girls are arrested, many tortured to death. Later – Christian (YWCA –
1922), right-wing nationalist and socialist groups, all united temporarily into
Kŭnuhwe (Friends of the Rose of Sharon Association; 1927-1931). Some
iconoclastic elements – professional women (physicians - Dr. Esther Pak was
first, even before the colonization), wearing “male” clothes, cutting the
hairs, and sometimes even divorcing their husbands for infidelity (unheard-of
situation in traditional society). Still, the movements usually focused on the
“country-wide” issues (“nation/class”), and the gender inequality was seen just
as a part of wider “national/class” issue, not as the evil in itself. The
women’s movement, in fact, remained as submerged by the male-centered
discourses (“nationalism”/”class liberation”) as the women lives used to be in
traditional times.
Na
Hyesŏk (1896-1949) – Korea’s first modern female painter, also known as a
poet and novelist. Born into a wealthy family, educated in Japan and married to
a Japanese official of Korean ethnicity, she had an opportunity to spend 3
years in Europe studying art and traveling. Was divorced by the husband for
“infidelity” – after going public with her views on possibility of the romances
with other men even after the marriage. Known for describing her divorce
process in details in a journal article. Ostracized for her “freedom of love”
theories and unable even to visit her children at will, spent rest of her life
in Buddhist temples and hospitals and died a totally broken woman.
Na Hyesŏk’s Self-Portrait” and her Korean
landscape painting.
3. With the establishment of the Republic of Korea in
1948, women achieved constitutional rights for equal opportunities to pursue
education, work, and public life. There is no doubt that the underpaid and
underrepresented female labor force contributed crucially to the rapid economic
growth that Korea achieved during the past three decades.
Economical
participation: As economic development proceeded and the living
conditions of Koreans improved, the educational attainment level of women also
increased. In 1966, among those graduating from elementary school, only 33
percent of girls continued their education in middle school. The comparable
figures for high school and university were 20 percent and 4 percent,
respectively, during the same period. However, by 1997, the comparable ratios
reached 99 percent and 58 percent for high school and university/specialized
college. The economic participation rate of women also has increased steadily
since industrialization from 34.4 percent in 1965 to 47.2 percent in 1998. In
terms of characteristics of the female labor force, around a half of all
South Korean women works outside home, and the women provide around 70% of all
the service industry workers. In
1975, only 2 percent of the female labor force worked in professional and
managerial occupations and 4 percent in clerical positions. However, by 1998,
12.6 percent of female employees were serving in professional and managerial
positions, and another 16 percent were working in clerical occupations. Still,
among the males, 22,5% are professionals and managers (more than twice the
number of female professionals). At the same time, sales and service workers
are 23,6% of the total female workforce (only 16% among the total male
workforce). 23,3% of women are just helping their family businesses without any
fixed remuneration (among adult men – only 1,8%). Most importantly, on the
average, women’s earnings were only 63,4% of the male’s earnings on the same
job. As most women work in a smaller companies with less than 100
employees (90%), unionization rate of female workforce is dismally low – only
5,6% in 1997. That certainly weakens women’s negotiating power and their
ability to fight for better labor conditions.
With an increasing number of women entering professional jobs, the
government passed the "Equal Employment Act" in 1987 to prevent
discriminatory practices against female workers in regard to hiring and
promotion opportunities. Still, women in well-paid managerial positions are
still rarity, and gender inequality persists.
New materials: - 94% of Korean female college graduates tell that they have difficulties in finding a job, and 65% feel that big businesses prefer males (Hangyoreh Daily, March 15, 2000) - in prestigious IT production sphere, only 1,4% of recent female graduates get managerial and professional positions, compared to 25% of male graduates (Hangyoreh Daily, October 12, 1999).
- at the same time, about 1 million women are employed in the “entertainment” industry of bars, “massage parlors”, drinking establishments, brothels, and so on, sometimes under slave-like or very dangerous conditions (although not all of them are prostitutes in the strict meaning of the word).
- the females constitute only 28,7% of all Korean governmental bureaucrats, and 98,5% of all female bureaucrats have the official rank lower than 6th (clerical positions without any decision-making power). (Chungang Daily, June 18, 1999). Number of female diplomats – 3,8% of the total, and the same with other prestigious public sector occupations.
- UNDP female equality index rates South Korea 37th in the world, much lower than Japan (13th ) or Poland (35th ).
- during the recent financial crisis, the percent of dismissed full-time female employees (23% of the total number of all employees) was twice the rate for males (12%). More than half of the remained women employees reported that they were too frightened now even to use their legal maternity leave in the case of pregnancy! (Chungang Daily, October 28, 1998).
- “Feminine face of poverty” – 65% of the women-headed households had income below the average in 1995, and 50% of women-headed households had income below the 30% of average. 43% of women-headed households are officially considered “poor” (and only 19% of men-headed households). Women-headed household (mostly divorcées, widows, lone mothers, etc. – 16% of the total number of households) – very slim chances for economic success. The poverty rate for women in South Korea has a tendency to gradually increase (around 4% annually) in the wake of financial crisis of 1997-98 and economic restructuring.
Overall: patterns of strong gender discrimination in hiring, sector distribution, wages, promotion, dismissal, and working conditions.
4. Political participation: meager and much worse than even in many Asian countries. Women constituted only 3% of the parliament deputies before 2000 (world’s average – 11,8%; Iraq – 6,4%, Iran – 4,9%; Sweden – 40,4%), and only 4,4% of the top decision-makers in various spheres of the society (Singapore – 15%, Japan – 9%). Among Korea’s 11 female law-makers, only 3 were elected directly by the regional constituencies, and the rest was on the parties’ country-wide lists. Here, traditional perception that women are not to meddle into politics, still works very strongly, and women have too slim chances to be popularly elected.
5. Political “Women empowerment” campaign: In 1995 – “crime of rape” was redefined, and the mentions of “chastity” were all removed (break with Confucian tradition). “Self-report rule” was discarded – now, a third part could report rape as well. In 1997 – Special Act on the Punishment of Domestic Violence adopted. With the launch of the new Administration in 1998, the Presidential Commission on Women's Affairs was established to handle issues specifically involving women. The commission set up 20 specific tasks to be achieved in six basic areas. These areas include the following: to revise and establish laws and rules that involve discrimination in any sector and to increase the representation of women, to facilitate women's employment and provide support for female workers, to increase educational opportunities for women to be competitive in the labor market, to provide social welfare policies for women, to promote women's involvement in various social activities including volunteer work and women's organization activities, and to strengthen the cooperation of Korean women's organizations with international women's organizations. UN-recommended 30% quota system for the public sector – is to be implemented from 2002, but results hardly will come soon. 2001 – Maternity protection-related laws altered (extension of childbirth leave to 3 month, etc.); Ministry of Gender Equality (MOGE) created. “Korean Women’s Hotline” (1998), other right-protection organizations. Now – 78 women’s centers nationwide, with 58 thousands of users annually (temporary shelter, job training, etc.). Budget for specifically female-oriented welfare programs – 0,03% of national budget (wedding expenses for low-income couples, etc. included). Still, “family-head system” (for married couples, if husband is present, he is to be officially designated as “family-head”), harshly criticized by women movement, still remains on books and legally practiced. Juvenile Sex Protection Act (2000) defines any intercourse with a partner below 13 as “statutory rape”, but a question remains – isn’t purchase of sexual services from 14-16 olds a “statutory rape” too?
6. Family life patterns: 1) prevalence of two-generational family (two-thirds of all households) – “nuclearization” of family and alleviation of problem of the “wife – husband’s mother relationship” 2) Average marriage age for women – 26-27 (in older times, most of brides were teenage girls).
3) Divorce ratio – 15% in 1994 (only 5% in 1980). Still, the stigmatization of divorcees persists.
4) “Democratization” of family – as women are more active economically, they get bigger share of the decision-making power. Recently, 70% of important family decisions are taken by the couple together.
5) “Re-mapping” of female roles. Today, the main obligation of wife in the family is the education of children.
7. Female/feminist movement. Lots of independent women organizations emerged in the end of the 1980s and in the 1990s, with the democratization of the life in general. Campaigns – against the discrimination (including, for example, corporate habit of discriminating against these women who look “not beautiful enough” in the recruitment process), against the archaic laws on the “household mastership” (which makes almost only males the “heads of households”, with serious prerogatives), against sexual crimes, against tradition of using unpaid female labor for preparing the sacrifices to the ancestors, and so on. Recently, the campaign for the rights of female short-term/contract workforce (around 60-70% of all the non-permanent workers are female) looks as the most important, as gender discrimination feeds also an extremely painful labor exploitation pattern.
Feminist culture: a popular feminist journal, “If”, is published now (www.iftopia.com): it includes, for example, pieces on female sexual experience that are supposed to “de-taboo” the topics of female sexuality and childbirth. The journal campaigns also against a beauty pageant, “Miss Korea”, accusing it in “commodifying female sexuality” – here, feminist criticism is blended with Marxist notion of “alienation/commodity fetishism”. The campaign has its own web-page: http://www.antimisskorea.com
Female movement has also its own newspaper: http://www.iwomantimes.com
Female graduates
looking for jobs. 65% of Korea’s young jobless are females.
On the overall: the pattern of uneasy transition to gender-sensitive and more equal society, strongly inhibited by the conservative and exploitive structure of the employment market and the prevalence of gender stereotypes in the bureaucratic circles and, generally, in the field of politics.