https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2021/09/703_316067....
Are there English translations available? I will definitely like to read these.
Although, I find it going too easy on patriarchy.
In oppressive patriarchies, women are:
- servants during the day doing the cooking, cleaning, child-bearing, washing, taking care of the previous generation, etc.
- prostitutes during the night.
I don't have any reference point for South Korea, but i know of such stories in western Europe (like France) although it was much more common one or two generations ago. Not to say everything is so bad around here, but just don't trust State propaganda that all is good :)
> 20s men are more likely to be right wing as left wing parties in Korea usually includes women’s right activists
That's a worrying development, although the same kind of political reaction can be found in many places across history. Do you know of good english/french resources to follow Korean politics from an intersectional perspective?
I don't know any atm which unfortunate because our political history is super interesting as we've gone through so much in the last 60 years. I'm sure there are some good articles around.
- Because of North Korea, most of our early political history was dominated by anti-communist ideology and strong nationalism.
- Also anti-japanese sentiment is one of the best way to gain politicial good will, so both the right wing and left wing accuse each other of being pro-japanese. There is even a dictionary that supposedly tracks of all the "pro-japanese" families/ people.
- You can see these two main sentiments in play whenever Koreans talk about Park Chung-hee, probably the most controversial dictator in Korea. He is idolised by right wingers as the person who lead the economic development; and demonised by left wingers as a ruthless dictator and as a pro-japanese.
This two themes have been the main themes of political conflict in Korea before 2000 (and they still are). But for younger generation, the main conficts now are inequality (house prices, labour rights, corruption) and gender (abysmal birthrate, marriage rate, just lots of hate in all internet forums).
It used to be Koreans wouldn’t date Japanese out of hate but with few exceptions not many would refuse to date someone because they are Japanese (as business people or exchange students of each other and so on)
In any case, it doesn’t make sense to be anti Japanese since they’re basically on the same team these days: democracies who aim to keep their economies vital in the face of competition as well as declining fertility rates and also who must contend with a regional hegemon.
Maybe the old shintoburi is still going strong though.
In particular, the southeast region (Gyungsangdo - GSD) is the core of the right-wing, and the southwest region (Jeollado - JLD) is the core of the left-wing. I really cringe at using the words "right" and "left" here because South Korean politics doesn't neatly align with what many Westerners would think of when hearing those terms. But for lack of better terminology...
In any case, the earlier presidents (or quasi-dictators) hailed from GSD and overtly favoritized their home provinces in terms of economic development, etc. while leaving JLD less developed. This has led to resentments that reflect in politics that persist to this day.
Some would argue the rivalry goes back even further. Historical texts exist that describe animosity between the GSD and JLD regions back into the Joseon dynasty. Going back even further, the GSD and JLD regions were the rival and enemy kingdoms of Shilla and Baekje respectively, the former which eventually conquered the latter.
It used to be that it was even taboo to marry across GSD-JLD lines, but again, this mainly affects the older generations. Personally - while I am Korean-American, my family comes from GSD. My wife is from JLD. My dad is on the conservative spectrum in terms of Korean politics and I was initially worried what he would think when I introduced my then-girlfriend to my parents for the first time. Thankfully it was a total nothingburger and my now-wife and my parents get along absolutely fine.
Unfortunately I can't find it now though; it was very insightful.
The sentiment is not non-existent in Korea itself too though. In fact, in some discussions of recent military developments by the RoK (plans for a aircraft carrier, SLBMs, F-35 and/or KF-X fighters, etc.) it's often touted by these folks that they are just as meant to be pointed towards Japan as they are to North Korea or China.
This needs some quantification. The world chinil (친일), while literally "pro-Japanese", has a very specific meaning: it means Koreans who collaborated with the Japanese government during Japan's colonial rule over Korea.
That is, the dictionary in question doesn't enumerate those who liked Japan: it's a dictionary of Koreans who served or otherwise helped Japan's rule over Korea. Perhaps "dictionary of national traitors" would be a better translation. Also it's a civilian project and your name (or your grandparent's name) being in the dictionary won't block you from anything, including getting elected/hired in government positions. The only thing it does is to record history and remind some people of the crimes of their ancestors.
Historically, women definitely were not given respect. My mother was had to fight to go to a university while taking care of all the younger siblings. She was not given any support while her brothers were given everything.
My aunt lived her entire life in servitude for her in-laws family. I remember that my grandfather got angry at her because she wanted to take THREE days off to go travel.
Stories like these aren’t uncommon for older women in Korea. This is depicted In short stories written by Han Kang where women become ‘plants’, a decor in one’s home, stripped of their personalities.
Thankfully, women’s rights have come a long way now. Most girls will be able to go to university if they want to and pursue a professional career without much judgment. That being said, Korea is still behind in many aspects of gender equality, compared to places like NZ.
It’s not all roses either. Very fast changes in society is resulting in conflicts. Gender conflict in Korea is at all times high now. To give an example, 20s men are more likely to be right wing as left wing parties in Korea usually includes women’s right activists.