Women in History: Korean Struggle for Independence - Essay Example

Women in History: Korean Struggle for Independence In a broader sense, there is a correlation between community, citizenship and nationalism. Although each of these terms can refer to a number of meanings in their own individual standings, at least one meaning of each of these terms relates to at least one meaning of the other two. Community in social-political terms can refer to two things. The first meaning of community is a small collection of individuals or families who have a common interests and values, such as a neighbourhood or a village. The second meaning of community may refer to a broader collection of individuals such as a country, or even the international community. All these terms refers to the state and the nations and are basis for nationalism. The development and use of the state military formations as a socio-political and economic foundation was as a result of utilisation of the various techniques for discipline and have existed and much in Korea as in any other state to build a modern state (Kim, E 18). In Korea, according to Seungsook (18), nationalism was a very strong foundation and was fuel from making women to be in the limelight for pushing for liberation from Japanese rule. The term citizenship may also refer to different meanings despite the fact that they are all related. First, citizenship may refer to the relationship between a state and the person who is the citizen. It may therefore refer to the political and legal bindings between such as individual and a state. On the other hand, citizenship may also refer to nationality which is more related to the ethnicity of a person (Lockard 48). This is because most citizens of a country are likely to be of specific ethnicity. However, in a modern world where there various citizenship arrangements, there are ways in which a person of one ethnicity may gain the citizenship of another country such as through marriage or legal procedures (naturalisation). Nationalism may refer to the personal beliefs and ideologies which one associates with their nations or state. In this regard, the relationship among community, citizenship and nationalism can be seen to be the connection to the state or nation. With regard to nationalism, people feel that the nation is more like a mother to them. In this regard, women can participate in nationalism symbolically because they are equated to the nations as mothers. In the Korean state, however, from a historic point of view, women did not only participate in nationalism symbolically, but participated in nationalism in an active way. During the first half of the 20th century, Korean women were very active in the food riots and tax rebellion (Shen and Song 69). This was especially in the 1930s where Korean Peasant women worked together with the Chinese to revolt against the Japanese occupation and colonization. These women rioted and rebelled against the Japanese colonial rule and demanded for better socioeconomic conditions. These riots as Smith (89) says led to the liberalization of both Korea and China. During this time of need, the issues which were at the forefront especially for the peasant married women was not gender issues but the assurance of the survival of their families. This worked positively as well as negatively in helping in the tightening of the nationalism in Korea (Kim, S 181). Non-gender traditionally defined identities of resistance were important in the Korean women nationalism meant that gender barriers were lifted and the women could fight for their rights without limits of gender. This as Kim, E (22) says was hard because the Japanese policy in colonisation was to take control of the minds of the people being colonised and this involved conversion of the ideological offenders and watching them closely after the conversion. For the nation, the fact that these were women mattered no more and women could participate in nationalism such as rebelling and calling for social economic change for better life (Kim and Choi 27). This however also affected nationalism in a number of ways. For instance, it drove a wedge between communist women and married peasant women because these two groups had two different views of life (Duiker 347). The married peasant women as Duiker (347) points out did not care too much about the gender issues and only cared to know that they would have the right socioeconomic and political conditions which could hem and their families to survive. This meant one thing which was to be detrimental to the process of nationalism; that the women across the socio-political divide could not work together to achieve the common goal of dealing with the unfair political and economic environment caused by colonialism. Colonialism is a political arrangement that sees people from one region and state being rules and controlled by people from other regions (Sharp and McHugh 189). The colonialist is usually another state or nation state with interests, usually social economic interests in another state. Colonialism can be arranged between the two states but in most cases the colonialist enforces himself unto the colony, usually leading to power struggles between the two. Colonisation is something that has been there for several thousands of years as can be seen in the Roman Empire and many empires that have passed. Colonisation however became more popular in the 18th and 19th century where European nations, in an attempt to meet the demand for raw materials for the many factories brought about by industrial revolution in their nations, went to Africa and Asia to find colonies and protectorates. There before, England had colonised the United States of America, which back them was not the US as it is known today. Social mobility is the movement of people from one socioeconomic standing to another. People and families can move from one socioeconomic standing to other due to various events and processes (Graham 15). When for instance an individual gets a better job after completing an education course, they are likely to move from a lower social class to a higher one. When such a person moves higher in the socioeconomic ladder, their immediate families are also uplifted with them. Social mobility may also occur downwards where an individual or family is demoted from a higher social economic standing to a lower one (Yang 124). This can happen when an individual loses their job or a breadwinner in a family dies. Patriarchy refers to the situation where males are given the prime authority whether in political fronts, moral and spiritual roles or in family settings. A patriarchal society or community is one that subscribes to the idea that males are generally supreme to females and females in such a society are not given any leadership roles (Lockard 341). Traditionally many societies have been patriarchal and many societies are trying to help in creating a less patriarchal system in their way of doing things. However, although societies have always been patriarchal, there have been situations where societies had achieved system where women also had power and control. However, in the Korean environment, gender and class inequality has seemed to negatively affect women more (Kim, E 67-118). This view is also shared by Hyuna (123-140) who identifies that Korena women had to overcome numeriosu challnges in society in order to achive their freedoms. A good example is the kingdom of Silla in Korea, where a woman was selected to be queen in power by her father. Queen Sondok was selected to be the leader of the kingdom as her father the King did not have any male heirs to the throne. This seven-century-old throne was a patriarchal but women also had leadership roles in the society and therefore as Women in World History (para 1) says, when Sondok was selected to be queen, this did not come as a great surprise as women had always played the leadership roles in the Kingdom such as acting as advisers to great political leaders. This was to set precedence in Korean history as many centuries later in 20th century women were useful tools in the fight for liberalization of Korea (Hyun 229-248). Korea therefore has been seen as society where women have been given the big role of nationalism and national matters. This is despite the fact that in most cases where this role has been given in a tacit manner rather than in an explicit manner. Regardless of that, women in Korean, despite the nations being an Asian country where women are not as liberated as they are today in the rest of the world have played a big role in national matters as can be seen in the times of struggle for national freedom. Works Cited Duiker, William. The Essential World History, Volume II: Since 1500, 7e. London, UK: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print Kim, Elaine. “Men’s Talk: A Korean American View of South Korean Constructions of Women, Gender, and Masculinity,” Dangerous Women: Gender and Korean Nationalism. New York: Routledge, 1998. Print. Graham, Stuart. Appointment of chair, Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission: second report of session 2012-13, Vol. 1: Report, together with formal minutes and written evidence, Volume 1. New york City, NY: The Stationery Office, 2012. Print Hyun, Ok Park, “Ideals of Liberation: Korean Women in Manchuria,” in Dangerous Women, 229-248. Print Yang, Hyunah. “Re-membering the Korean Military Comfort Women: Nationalism, Sexuality, and Silencing,” in Dangerous Women, 123-140. Kim, Suk. North Korea at a Crossroads. London: McFarland, 2003. Print Kim, Elaine and Choi, Chungmoo. Dangerous Women: Gender and Korean Nationalism. London, UK: Routledge, 2012. Print Lockard, Craig. Societies, Networks, and Transitions: Volume I: A Global History: A Global History--Volume I to 1500. London, UK: Cengage Learning, 2007. Print Sharp, Andrew and McHugh, Paul. Histories, Power and Loss: Uses of the Past--a New Zealand Commentary. New York City, NY: Bridget Williams Books, 2001. Print Shen, Shang and Song, Ming. Asian American Studies: A Reader. New York City, NY: Rutgers University Press, 2000. Print Smith, Bonnie. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History: 4 Volume Set. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2008. Print Seungsook, Moon, “Introduction: The Gender Politics of Nation Building and Citizenship in South Korea,” 1-16, and “The historical Roots and the Rise of Militarized Modernity,” in Militarized Modernity and Gendered Citizenship in South Korea (Durham: Duke UP, 2005), 17-43. Print Women in World History. Female Heroes of Asia: Korea: Queen Sondok (or Sonduk): Silla Dynasty. 2013. 05 November 2013 . Read More