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The Domestic Arena Of The Public Sphere

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From the Domestic Arena to the Public Sphere
Before the 1920s, under the colonial rules of Japan, the Korean male intellectuals claimed women’s equal rights because they realized the necessity for the new role of women for the nation building and strengthening. To put it differently, the male nationalists designed and developed the ideal roles of women. As a result, although women were given equal rights, a woman’s role remained in the domestic arena as a “good wife, wise mother.”
In the 1920s, when intellectual New Women began to engage in creating gender discourse, they enhanced women’s roles in social relationship and power structure. Namely, New Women aimed to create new women’s roles as members of the family, the society, and the …show more content…

Specifically, in “the Self-Awakening of Women” in 1920, Kim states, “woman’s life should be equal to man’s life, and the goal of woman’s life should be equal to that of man” (31). It means women should be respected as the independent subjects in the public sphere as men, and women’s roles could be expanded in terms of their own criteria. In the statement, Kim’s aspiration further asserts women have autonomy to construct their own roles in the public sphere without any restriction. Similarly, in “What Does Freedom Mean for Women” in 1925, Yi states that women should strive “to become a decent worker for society, to become a good companion for one’s family” (37). Notably, Yi shows her ideal roles of women to be recognized as not only members of the family, but also workers for society, and the contributors to the colonized nation. Thus, Yi Chŏnghŭi’s aspiration also targets the expansion of the women’s role. In addition, in “An Observation on the Status of Women” in 1926, Im claims it is women’s responsibility to “call for women’s liberation on their own” and to “improve the lower-than-zero status of women” for “true happiness in human society” (38, 39). In her argument, Im implies the new ideal role of women should contain their civil duties. It means women could be defined as citizens in the public sphere, and they should

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