Women in Colonial Korea: New Women and Comfort Women - Essay Example

Women in Colonial Korea: New women and comfort women In the context of global history, colonization has been related to critical interventions in colonized countries. In the case of Colonial Korea a similar trend was reported. In current paper, emphasis is given to a specific aspect of Colonial Korea: the role of women, as reflected in new women and comfort women. The paper is based on the following thesis: Colonization in Korea had transformed the life and the role of women, leading to the introduction of new types of women, such as the new women and the comfort women; still, the negative aspects of this transformation were significantly more than the benefits involved. The literature related to this issue has been reviewed. It is proved that during the colonization period, ‘from 1910 to 1945’ (Jun Yoo 296), women in Korea had to face a series of critical challenges and that their entering in the workplace had not resulted to the improvement of their life, at least for the majority of them. This outcome was related to the following fact: in Korea, the transformation of woman’s social position and role was the result of the violation of the country’s social framework, i.e. of the colonization, and not of the decision of the country’s political and social powers. Since its entrance in Korea, in 1910, Japan had tried to make major changes on existing economic structures, as in this way it could secure its long term presence in the country. For example, during the colonization period Korea had the chance to acquire technologies that could not otherwise develop (Jun Yoo 297). This resulted to the radical improvement of the living conditions of Korea’s urban population; Seoul acquired many features similar to Tokyo, such as transportation system, electricity and central water system (Jun Yoo 297). People in the rural areas of Korea were attracted to the new style of life. However, for them this life was not affordable. The opening of new industries, that aimed to support, actually, the development of Japan’s industries, offered an important chance: people from rural areas of Korea could enter the workforce and seek for wages that could help them to improve their life. The wages would be also an important help for their family left back, in rural areas (Jun Yoo 297). This mode of life became particularly popular especially for women. Indeed, young girls from the rural areas could never have the chance to earn their own money. Entering the workforce of industries, such as ‘textile and food processing’ (Jun Yoo 297) would offer to these girls a sum that could secure both the living of their families and of themselves. It should be noted that for Korean women the entering in job market was followed by changes in the appearance, leading to dress style similar to that of the West of that period (Jun Yoo 296). Still, through the years it was made clear that the prospects for women who decided to follow this style of life, i.e. to become ‘new women’, were quite limited. Primarily, the wages was too low to cover the women’s studies. A Korean woman that had become a new woman could not afford to cover her educational expenses by her work. Thus, most of these women remained workers, under quite difficult conditions (Jun Yoo 297). According to Yang-hee (41) the transformation of women’s role in Korea during colonization can be considered as not expected. In fact, it is noted that the appearance of the new type of woman, of the ‘new woman’, has been a desire of ‘the country’s intellectuals’ (Yang-hee 41). These people believed that women in Korea should be educated since in this way their potentials as a mother and as a wife would be significantly increased; this belief was based on the admire for the Western social ethics and trends (Yang-hee 41). This transformation, which was also supported by the country’s nationalists, had the following implication: new women tended to be not only educated but also fully differentiated from the Korean stereotype of woman: they did not accept patriarchy and ‘tried to express their sexuality openly’ (Yang-hee 41). Such behavior was not accepted by intellectuals neither by nationalists (Yang-hee 41). As a result, the entrance of women in education, a requirement for the full transformation of their life was not adequately supported by locals (Yang-hee 41), a fact that led to the implications explained earlier. Another type of Korean woman developed because of the colonization of Korea has been the comfort woman. The term has been used for describing those Korean women who were become sexual slaves to Japanese, after the entrance of the Japanese military forces in Korea and up to the end of colonization (Young-sook and Hye-ran 51). At this point, reference should be made to the following fact: Japanese used to follow the specific practice, i.e. to take women from the countries that had colonized and made them sexual slaves (Young-sook and Hye-ran 51). Yeong-ae (209) notes that the comfort system was initially based on Japanese women who participated in the system with their consent and they were paid for the services they provided. However, through the years, the needs for comfort women were increased; then, women from colonies were brought, without their consent, in the comfort camps to cover the relevant gaps (Yeong-ae 209). Under the pressures of the international community Japan accepted in 1925 to enter the international agreements that prohibited such practices; however, Japanese governors noted that these prohibitions would not apply in the colonies of Japan (Young-sook and Hye-ran 52). The comfort system has been against the human rights, as protected by the international law. However, the Japanese governors have refused to admit their responsibility towards the victims of the particular crime. In 2000 the International Tribunal that is responsible for the war crimes developed against women had produced a decision in regard to the comfort system, as used during the colonization of Korea. According to that decision, the Japanese emperor and the other Japanese officials involved in the development of the comfort system have been guilty for committing a war crime (Arakawa 175). The law suits for compensation that followed by victims of this crime have been rejected by the Japanese courts; another law suits including a claim for compensation has been addressed before the US courts under the provisions of the ‘Alien Torts Claim Act’ (Arakawa 176). These efforts, after so many years from the end of Korea colonization, reveal the level of harm that Korea women have suffered because of the comfort system used by Japanese military. Yeong-ae (208) notes that the efforts of former comfort women to seek for justice in regard to the emotional and physical damage they have suffered in comfort camps have been continuous since the end of Korea colonization. The fact that during these years there has been no acceptance of the crime by the Japanese government has been related to the following phenomenon: Japanese women who were also captured and kept in comfort camps have avoided speaking for the harm they have suffered (Yeong-ae 208). In addition, in the past the international courts have not been willing to characterize rape as a war crime; it was just in 1990s that such trend appeared in the international courts and since the claims for sexual abuse during war activities worldwide have significantly increased (Hee-Kang 181). The effects of colonization on women’s life can be identified through the interview of Song Youn-ok, a Korean historian. Youn-ok had decided to study history due to her memories, as a child, of the colonization of Korea. According to Youn-ok in the context of her country’s colonization by Japan the life of Korean women has radically changed: for the first time, women were given the chance to study the field they with to (Voices from Japan 11). However, finally ‘the number of women who were able to access higher education was quite small’ (Voices from Japan 11). Moreover, because of the colonization Korean women started to claim their right for equality within their family, meaning their equality; in the context of this equality the power of the male, father or husband would not be accepted (Voices from Japan 11). These women were named as ‘New Women’ (Voices from Japan 11); their name resulted from their, new, ideas in regard to social equality, an issue that was quite difficult to be tolerated by the Korean society of the colonization period (Voices from Japan 11). Due to the oppositions faced, New Women had to join their efforts with those who were tried to promote the right of Korea to liberation; such practice was unavoidable since there could be no chance for women’s rights to be promoted within a state that was set under colonization (Voices from Japan 11). Gradually, New Women were related not only to the right of women to education and to equality but also to the right of Korea to be liberated and other issues of social interest (Voices from Japan 12). In other words, the New Woman, as a concept, has not resulted to the transformation of the role of women in Korea. There have been certain women who were benefited by the colonization since they had the chance to be educated, but these women were few. Most of New Women in Korea have to abandon their efforts in regard to the recognition of women’s rights and chose to get married, followed the traditional beliefs of Korean society for women (Voices from Japan 13). The material provided above verifies the thesis of this paper: the colonization of Korea by Japanese has resulted to severe damages for women across the country. There have been certain benefits, such as the potential given to women to ask for their rights, especially in regard to education and equality. If reviewed carefully, the benefits of women from colonization will be proved limited: just a few women managed to access higher education, a decision that transformed their life. The rest were just given the chance to declare their social rights, with no actual benefits. Instead, the drawbacks of Korea colonization for women were significantly more than the benefits. Indeed, due to colonization thousands of Korean women were enforced to become comfort women, a fact that destroyed their life and for which they have not been compensated, at least not yet. For these reasons, the colonization of Korea can be regarded not just as a condition that transformed the life of Korean women but rather as a cause for severe violations of women’s rights. Works Cited Hee-Kang, Kim. “The Comfort Women System and Women’s International Human Rights.” Korea Observer 43.2(2012): 175-208 Jun Yoo, Theodore. “The ‘New Woman’ and the Politics of Love, Marriage and Divorce in Colonial Korea.” Gender & History 17.2(2005): 295–324. Maki Arakawa. “A New Forum for Comfort Women: Fighting Japan in United States Federal Court.” Berkeley Womens Law Journal 16.1(2001): 174-200 http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/bglj/vol16/iss1/6 Voices from Japan. “What Did Japanese Colonial Rule Bring to Korean Women? An Interview with Song Youn-ok” 25(March 2011): 10-16 Yang-hee, Hong. “Debates about ‘A Good Wife and Wise Mother’ and Tradition in Colonial Korea.” The Review of Korean Studies 11.4(2008): 41-60. Yeong-ae, Yamashita. “Nationalism and Gender in the Comfort Women Issue.” Kyoto Bulletin of Islamic Area Studies, 3-1 (July 2009): 208–219. Young-sook, Shin and Cho Hye-ran. “On the Characteristics and Special Nature of the Korean “Military Comfort Women” under Japanese Rule.” Korea Journal. Spring 1996: 50-78 Read More