Women In Korea

Back in the past the Korean women were supposed to be restricted to their houses and were not allowed to leave the building without their husband, brother or father. They were given no or very less right to express their opinions on worldly matters. They were only allowed to involve and participate in household matters such as cooking, cleaning and organizing the home.

The daughters in a household were always taught to be submissive and sacrifice their desires for the male members of the family. In a very early stage in their lives young Korean women were taught to obey and submit. The only purpose of their lives was getting married, becoming a mother and attending to her children afterwards. Things do not always stay the same and so didn’t the Korean society and social structure. When the country had increased its global interactions in the late nineteenth century the women got more active and liberal. The western missionaries started modern schools in Korea. These schools were aimed in enlightening the society and making the women aware of their rights and role in a modern society. The chain reaction thus started, these educated women will go to other women and educate them about what they were learning. This gave an opportunity to the women to participate actively in arts, teaching, religious preaching and painting. It came as a surprise to everyone when these women participated in the protests against the Japanese along with their men. In 1948 women got constitutional rights that gave them the opportunity to educate, learn, work and enjoy a public life equivalent to the men of the society. This turned out to be a quite positive step for Korea as the workforce increased significantly and the gross domestic product of the nation increased. With the economic development the women participated more in every profession along with the men. The rate of education increased massively and the economic and social conditions of the country improved. The number of women joining schools, colleges and even universities improved each year and within a decade Korea was a completely new society.

The modern women of Korea face many challenges as they have to manage a family life as well as a professional life. They earn to add to their family income and tend to their children and families as well. These women have certainly shown great valor since past few decades.