Pioneers of Korean Feminism: Korean Women's Movements 1876-1945.

Abstract

In recent years, there has been an increase in publications on Korean feminist movements, mostly those after 2000, which have self-defined themselves as the first feminist movements. However, Korean feminism was born at the end of the 19th century as a resistance against Confucian patriarchal politics and culture, and at the same time, as a way to strengthen activism against Japanese colonialism. This article is a documentary analysis with a descriptive scope. Among the main findings, it identifies and contextualizes the internal crisis of the Joseon kingdom, after its opening and the arrival of modernization, as a factor of origin of the movements, since it promoted the implementation of educational reforms that included women. It also highlights the Kunuhoe and Chanyanghoe, which allowed the development of the first feminist guidelines and the establishment of action mechanisms to insert themselves in the social and political spheres.