Womens Life in the Late Koryo and Early Choson in Korea - Report Example

Women’s life in the late Koryo and early Choson in Korea The Koryo dynasty is believed to have lasted from late 12th century to mid-13th century when the Chosen dynasty came in and lasted up to early 18th century. Women in late Koryo and early Choson in Korea were accorded status that is more equitable with the men than in the subsequent generations. They were recognized in the handling of various economic and social activities in the community and they generally competed in an equal way with their male counterparts. In the Koryo period, women were awarded relatively equal treatment in the allocation and division of family property since they were eligible to receive a share of family property from their parents. It was not their right to be allocated part of the inheritance but records show that majority of the fathers used to allocate part of their property to their wives and daughters. The allocation was not usually in equal measures with the male but the fact that the women were recognized indicates that they were receiving relative equitable treatment. This is because in most of the communities that existed then women used to be inferior to the male and they would thus not be awarded any responsibility associated with handling of material things. In most of these communities, it was a taboo for a woman to own property and thus any woman who demanded to inherit property was considered to be immoral. The Korean women who lived in this period therefore used to be economically stable and would not depend completely on men for survival. Due to this fact, men were allowed to move to their in laws with their wives when they got married and use the property already owned by the wives for common good of their families (Hee-Sook 126-127). Economic independence of women made them either directly or indirectly receive fair treatment from their husbands and thus they did not encounter a lot of domestic violence. This is attributed to the sense of power and respect that was normally associated with material possessions hence the men respected them because of their economic ability and their self-sustenance. Economic independence also meant that if the men treated their wives in unfair ways, the wives would seek for divorce and start their own independent families devoid of the irresponsible men. Furthermore, the society allowed the women to remarry either after divorce or after the death of their husbands as long as the concerned women observed the rituals stipulated by the community. It is also reported that in some cases women were allowed to take multiple husbands just like the men who were allowed to marry several women. All these contributed in one way or another in making the men respect the women and therefore accord them more equitable terms in dealing with the various daily activities. The girl child during the Koryo period was treated in a more equitable way than it was in other communities than it was in subsequent Korean generations (Clarke 34). She was well protected by the older women in the society from being oppressed by members of the opposite sex and this was evidenced mainly in the division of labor. The girl child would be allocated responsibilities that were more feminine and those that required a lot of masculine energy were left to the boys. There was therefore very little discrimination on the girl child and as a result, the girls lived quite normal lives devoid of oppressions and other challenges that were common to young women at that time. Buddhism, which was the main religion during the Koryo period, promoted gender equality in religious affairs and other communal activities that were associated with various religious activities (Deuchler 42). Women were accorded freedom of worship, which enabled them to visit temples and other religious sites whenever they wanted as long as it was within the right season for the concerned event. The women were also allowed to hold and fully participate in all religious ceremonies most of which were conducted in riverbanks and in other secluded places such as mountains. Furthermore, the women were allowed to worship various gods that Buddhism recognized such as house gods since the men believed that as the women sought guidance from these gods there would be peaceful coexistence in the entire community. This meant that the women were capable of appeasing the gods just like the men implying that they were equal with the men in the eyes of the gods. It is thus evident that the women during this period enjoyed relatively equal rights with the men as far as religious affairs were concerned. The equality accorded to Korean women in economic and social matters was negatively affected when the Koryo period ended marking the advent of Choson period. This is because the chosen period was characterized by a transition from Buddhism to neo- Confucian which was a system that was greatly influenced by the then ruling class. The Yangban, which was the ruling class, believed in establishment of a patriarchal family order that would give men more power and authority over the women. As a result, women were socially discriminated against and were made to be in a lower social status than the men hence becoming victims of unfair treatment (Kim, Youngmin & Pettid 103). The marriage system changed to the disadvantage of the women since all the privileges they had previously enjoyed under the previous regime were scrapped off. The women were required to move to their husbands’ family upon marriage and it was not allowed for a man to move to her in laws as it was before. This created room for men to treat their wives unfairly since the wives were in their home and thus they had nowhere to run to as it was the case before. Moreover, the wives were divided into two categories; a legitimate wife and concubines where the legitimate wife was the one who was recognized as wife. This further created more inequality since the concubines had no legal rights and they would thus receive a lot of oppression from the men. They would be given more work than the legal wife would and in case they disobeyed, they would face very harsh treatments, some of which could lead to lifetime impairment and in extreme case result to death. The children of the concubine wives were not legally recognized and thus they would be treated as inferior implying that they were not eligible to receive most of the necessities. Guidelines that were established under Choson dynasty to control social relations brought a lot of inequality as far as women were concerned. These regulations prohibited women from visiting the temple monastery and from hosting some religious rituals instead; they were required to rely completely on the men for religious guidance (Peterson 41). The regulations also placed restrictions on the dressing style of the women and barred them from engaging in any activity that would make them have direct contact with members of opposite sex. These regulations were difficult to follow if not impossible and thus they led to increased inequality on the women and made them to have difficult time since they were completely restricted from engaging in most of the meaningful communal activities. The enactment of the above regulations was further followed by other restrictions that required women to disengage from all forms of public affairs in the society and instead concern themselves with matters that related to their families. Furthermore, their freedom on dealing with internal family matters was further infringed since the males placed restrictions that made the women not to be allowed to have access of some areas in their homes. This made the lives of the women to be miserable since they could not enjoy any form of absolute freedom in any place in the community. A degree of freedom is necessary for a human being to live a normal life without a lot of fear and be productive in the activities he engages in since it has a sense of motivation effect. Therefore, the Korean women were unproductive in almost all activities they engaged in and this gave more room for the men who had already been elevated above the women to oppress the women more. The neo-Confucian ideology also barred women from owning property and therefore changed the property inheritance regulations to bar them from being eligible to inherit property (Kihl 60). Under the guidelines advocated by the ideology only the eldest male son was eligible to inherit property and thus when the eldest child was a female it meant that she was not recognized in any way as far as property was concerned. In addition to this, women were not allowed to involve themselves in activities that would make them to be economically independent instead; they were encouraged to completely depend on their husbands for provision of all basic needs. This meant that if the husbands failed in providing basic commodities such as food, the women and consequently their children would lack these needs. For example if a man failed to provide food and shelter it would be very difficult for his family to access food and shelter from any other place. These restrictions show the inequality that existed against the women that made them to be treated as inferior human beings in their own families and community. The education system that was established under neo-Confucianism worked against the women and was generally geared towards making the women to be inferior to the men in the society. The education system only taught women on family affairs and it did not give room for them to learn other skills that would empower them both socially and economically. There were thus taught on how to cook, weave and establish good relationships with the three groups of people that were considered important to a woman. The three people were their fathers, husbands and sons and hence the Sohak, which was the system of education, focused on equipping women with skills that would better their relationship with the three groups of people. Furthermore, books that were written that time were geared on teaching the women on how to preserve chastity until marriage and be a virtuous wife according to the community. The education system thus did not focus on the girl child and in provision of skills that the women could use to improve their own personal lives hence it discriminated against the women. It is evident that there was social equality during the Koryn period where the women enjoyed relatively same rights and privileges as the men but the situation changed during the Choson period. The Choson dynasty encouraged patriarchal system of family relations and thus it scrapped all the rights the women were accorded during the previous regime leading to social inequality against the women. Therefore, the women during the mid Choson period endured many oppressive and discriminatory measures that the community had imposed on them. Work Cited Clarke, Donald. Culture and Customs of Korea. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000. Print. Deuchler, Martina. The Confucian Transformation of Korea-A study of Society and Ideology. Cambridge, MA: Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University, 1992. Print. Hee-Sook, Han. Women’s Life during the Chosŏn Dynasty. International Journal of Korean History. Vol.6, (2004), 113-159. Kihl, Young W. Transforming Korean Politics: Democracy, Reform, and Culture. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe, 2004. Print. Kim, Youngmin, and Michael J. Pettid. Women and Confucianism in Chosŏn Korea: New Perspectives. Albany: SUNY Press, 2011. Print. Peterson, Mark A. Korean Adoption and Inheritance-Case Studies in the Creation of a Class Confucian Society.Ithacs,NY: Cornell University East Asia Program, 1996. Print. Read More