Following the March First Movement in 1919, Korean-American communities coalesced in a show of so... more Following the March First Movement in 1919, Korean-American communities coalesced in a show of solidarity for the independence movement. Nationalist activities abroad had already lent their support to the organization of the movement, but the scale and success of the demonstration for independence reinvigorated these groups, particularly those in China and the United States. This paper takes a microcosmic approach to the nationalist movement in the U.S. through an examination of the writings of S?Chaep"il, or Philip Jaisohn (1864~1951), the geopolitical context of the March 1st Movement, and U.S.-Japan foreign relations. I argue that leaders of the Korean independence movement in the United States overestimated the American commitment to Korean sovereignty and failed to understand Washington"s aversion to conflict, particularly in the wake of World War I. Since they understood American military intervention was an unrealistic expectation, they focused on influencing public opinion, which they hoped would later affect US foreign policy. However, the United States did not even recognize Korea as a sovereign nation-state, and given the delicate political circumstances following the conclusion of World War I, sympathetic public opinion was unable to translate into political support or government intervention.
During the colonial period, the double love suicides of young “new women” were sensationalized by... more During the colonial period, the double love suicides of young “new women” were sensationalized by media outlets and became the object of discussion at a national level, triggering discourse over the role and value of women in Colonial Korea. This sense of involvement in the life and death of women was even more prominent when these suicides involved young women of child-bearing age, whose deaths could be collectively perceived as a loss of an important human resource for the country. This article will examine why the media focus was on young, educated upper-class women and how the discourse about their suicides expanded beyond a moral cautionary tale and was coopted by the Korean nationalist movement. We analyze the discourse that followed two representative female double suicides, the Yun/Kim suicide of 1926, and the Hong/Kim homosexual double suicide of 1931, focusing on the critique published mainly in the Tonga Ilbo newspaper. We also examine the response of the feminist movemen...
During the colonial period, the double love suicides of young “new women” were sensationalized by... more During the colonial period, the double love suicides of young “new women” were sensationalized by media outlets and became the object of discussion at a national level, triggering discourse over the role and value of women in Colonial Korea. This sense of involvement in the life and death of women was even more prominent when these sui-cides involved young women of child-bearing age, whose deaths could be collectively perceived as a loss of an important human re-source for the country. This article will examine why the media focus was on young, educated upper-class women and how the discourse about their suicides expanded beyond a moral cautionary tale and was coopted by the Korean nationalist movement. We analyze the discourse that followed two representative female double suicides, the Yun/Kim suicide of 1926, and the Hong/Kim homosexual double suicide of 1931, focusing on the critique published mainly in the Tonga Ilbo newspaper. We also examine the response of the feminist movements, or lack thereof, and the development of the ideological conflict between feminist and nationalist movements. Female suicide was one of the many battlefields between the na-tionalist and the feminist movements during the colonial period. As an issue involving women at every level of society, it had the poten-tial to challenge the Confucian patriarchal system and bring to light the new needs of Korean women. However, as this analysis has shown, it was dismissed as a personal and trivial matter compared with the urgent public issue of national liberation. The rise of women's move-ments in Korea, fueled by a small clique of educated women, was ul-timately subsumed by the nationalist movement and relegated to the realm of the private and inconsequential.
The first modern textbook published by the Chosŏn government, the People’s Elementary Reader (PER... more The first modern textbook published by the Chosŏn government, the People’s Elementary Reader (PER),marked a significant departure from traditional learning both in terms of content and form and played a pivotal role in introducing western-style learning. However, an absence of a thorough consideration of the PER’s obvious moral emphasis provides only a partial picture of the complexity of late nineteenth-century educational reform in Korea. A close examination of the historical context of educational reform and the PER’s publication in comparison with its American and Japanese counterparts demonstrates moral education was a necessary component of modern education and the modernization drive. As the Koreans saw useful parallels with their own Confucian traditions, educational officials replaced western ethics with Confucian moral education. Thus, the preservation of moral cultivation in the textbook along with the introduction of western-style learning was the embodiment of the slogan “Eastern Way, Western Technology” (tongdosŏgi). This type of accommodationist form of education conformed to modern (at that time) educational trends and facilitated the introduction of western-style learning by appealing to Confucian yangban sensibilities.
Rather than treat Korean women's education as a monolithic subject, this article examines the fir... more Rather than treat Korean women's education as a monolithic subject, this article examines the first schools for females established by the aristocratic yangban beginning in 1898 that reflected an effort to formalize elite female education and provide an alternative to the Christian missionary schools. Korean-founded schools adjusted their curriculum to include new subjects such as foreign languages, history, geography, and math while also offering erudite Confucian-based subjects vis-à-vis morals education, calligraphy, and literary Sinitic. These classical subjects were too advanced for the missionary schools to offer. The combination of these subjects was appropriate for women of elite households since they would marry government officials, diplomats, and scholars (also of yangban extraction), would need to be familiar with aristocratic etiquette and mores in a changing context, and would have to raise their children for their elite station in life. This changed after 1905 as Korean sovereignty became increasingly threatened and the mobilization of the female population, regardless of social class, became an urgent matter. Thus, all Korean women were called upon to perform their patriotic duties as wise mothers and good wives to contribute to the strengthening of the country.
Rather than treat Korean women's education as a monolithic subject, this article examines the fir... more Rather than treat Korean women's education as a monolithic subject, this article examines the first schools for females established by the aristocratic yangban beginning in 1898 that reflected an effort to formalize elite female education and provide an alternative to the Christian missionary schools. Korean-founded schools adjusted their curriculum to include new subjects such as foreign languages, history, geography, and math while also offering erudite Confucian-based subjects vis-à-vis morals education, calligraphy, and literary Sinitic. These classical subjects were too advanced for the missionary schools to offer. The combination of these subjects was appropriate for women of elite households since they would marry government officials, diplomats, and scholars (also of yangban extraction), would need to be familiar with aristocratic etiquette and mores in a changing context, and would have to raise their children for their elite station in life. This changed after 1905 as Korean sovereignty became increasingly threatened and the mobilization of the female population, regardless of social class, became an urgent matter. Thus, all Korean women were called upon to perform their patriotic duties as wise mothers and good wives to contribute to the strengthening of the country.
In 1894 at the end of the Chosôn dynasty, the Korean government initiated a sweeping program of r... more In 1894 at the end of the Chosôn dynasty, the Korean government initiated a sweeping program of reforms known as the Kabo Reforms. This was an attempt to make unprecedented political, economic, and social changes that would modernize the country and establish an independent and sovereign state. However, there are conflicting depictions of the Kabo Reforms in contemporary scholarship, some describing the effort as a result of Japanese pressure and others portraying the incipient rise of a modern nation-state. This paper examines the reform efforts through American eyes of the time with the hope that a third-party perspective will provide insight on the issue. Did Americans feel that the reform program was led by Japanese “advisers” or did they believe this was a substantive development in Korea’s modernization and self-strengthening movement? Did it even matter who initiated the process, or was the outcome the most important issue? Missionaries, diplomats, political advisers, and journalists in Korea wrote about the reforms and their aftermath, and newspaper coverage in the U.S. informed the American public about events in the Far East, contributing to the formation of an image of a turbulent Korea in dire need of reform. Understanding the nature of the Kabo Reform movement from eyewitness accounts will demonstrate that the most important aspect of the reforms was their permanence and certitude. Regardless of the Japanese role in the reforms, there was overall agreement that Korea required a modernizing reform program that would actuate substantive and lasting change.
... Doctor of Philosophy in East Asian Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angel... more ... Doctor of Philosophy in East Asian Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angeles, 2008 Professor John B. Duncan, Chair The ... Response), Han 'guksa simin kanghwa 7 (1990) and Ha Wonho, "Kaehanghu chegukchuui ui ch'imt'al kwa kyongju kujo ui pyondong ...
Following the March First Movement in 1919, Korean-American communities coalesced in a show of so... more Following the March First Movement in 1919, Korean-American communities coalesced in a show of solidarity for the independence movement. Nationalist activities abroad had already lent their support to the organization of the movement, but the scale and success of the demonstration for independence reinvigorated these groups, particularly those in China and the United States. This paper takes a microcosmic approach to the nationalist movement in the U.S. through an examination of the writings of S?Chaep"il, or Philip Jaisohn (1864~1951), the geopolitical context of the March 1st Movement, and U.S.-Japan foreign relations. I argue that leaders of the Korean independence movement in the United States overestimated the American commitment to Korean sovereignty and failed to understand Washington"s aversion to conflict, particularly in the wake of World War I. Since they understood American military intervention was an unrealistic expectation, they focused on influencing public opinion, which they hoped would later affect US foreign policy. However, the United States did not even recognize Korea as a sovereign nation-state, and given the delicate political circumstances following the conclusion of World War I, sympathetic public opinion was unable to translate into political support or government intervention.
During the colonial period, the double love suicides of young “new women” were sensationalized by... more During the colonial period, the double love suicides of young “new women” were sensationalized by media outlets and became the object of discussion at a national level, triggering discourse over the role and value of women in Colonial Korea. This sense of involvement in the life and death of women was even more prominent when these suicides involved young women of child-bearing age, whose deaths could be collectively perceived as a loss of an important human resource for the country. This article will examine why the media focus was on young, educated upper-class women and how the discourse about their suicides expanded beyond a moral cautionary tale and was coopted by the Korean nationalist movement. We analyze the discourse that followed two representative female double suicides, the Yun/Kim suicide of 1926, and the Hong/Kim homosexual double suicide of 1931, focusing on the critique published mainly in the Tonga Ilbo newspaper. We also examine the response of the feminist movemen...
During the colonial period, the double love suicides of young “new women” were sensationalized by... more During the colonial period, the double love suicides of young “new women” were sensationalized by media outlets and became the object of discussion at a national level, triggering discourse over the role and value of women in Colonial Korea. This sense of involvement in the life and death of women was even more prominent when these sui-cides involved young women of child-bearing age, whose deaths could be collectively perceived as a loss of an important human re-source for the country. This article will examine why the media focus was on young, educated upper-class women and how the discourse about their suicides expanded beyond a moral cautionary tale and was coopted by the Korean nationalist movement. We analyze the discourse that followed two representative female double suicides, the Yun/Kim suicide of 1926, and the Hong/Kim homosexual double suicide of 1931, focusing on the critique published mainly in the Tonga Ilbo newspaper. We also examine the response of the feminist movements, or lack thereof, and the development of the ideological conflict between feminist and nationalist movements. Female suicide was one of the many battlefields between the na-tionalist and the feminist movements during the colonial period. As an issue involving women at every level of society, it had the poten-tial to challenge the Confucian patriarchal system and bring to light the new needs of Korean women. However, as this analysis has shown, it was dismissed as a personal and trivial matter compared with the urgent public issue of national liberation. The rise of women's move-ments in Korea, fueled by a small clique of educated women, was ul-timately subsumed by the nationalist movement and relegated to the realm of the private and inconsequential.
The first modern textbook published by the Chosŏn government, the People’s Elementary Reader (PER... more The first modern textbook published by the Chosŏn government, the People’s Elementary Reader (PER),marked a significant departure from traditional learning both in terms of content and form and played a pivotal role in introducing western-style learning. However, an absence of a thorough consideration of the PER’s obvious moral emphasis provides only a partial picture of the complexity of late nineteenth-century educational reform in Korea. A close examination of the historical context of educational reform and the PER’s publication in comparison with its American and Japanese counterparts demonstrates moral education was a necessary component of modern education and the modernization drive. As the Koreans saw useful parallels with their own Confucian traditions, educational officials replaced western ethics with Confucian moral education. Thus, the preservation of moral cultivation in the textbook along with the introduction of western-style learning was the embodiment of the slogan “Eastern Way, Western Technology” (tongdosŏgi). This type of accommodationist form of education conformed to modern (at that time) educational trends and facilitated the introduction of western-style learning by appealing to Confucian yangban sensibilities.
Rather than treat Korean women's education as a monolithic subject, this article examines the fir... more Rather than treat Korean women's education as a monolithic subject, this article examines the first schools for females established by the aristocratic yangban beginning in 1898 that reflected an effort to formalize elite female education and provide an alternative to the Christian missionary schools. Korean-founded schools adjusted their curriculum to include new subjects such as foreign languages, history, geography, and math while also offering erudite Confucian-based subjects vis-à-vis morals education, calligraphy, and literary Sinitic. These classical subjects were too advanced for the missionary schools to offer. The combination of these subjects was appropriate for women of elite households since they would marry government officials, diplomats, and scholars (also of yangban extraction), would need to be familiar with aristocratic etiquette and mores in a changing context, and would have to raise their children for their elite station in life. This changed after 1905 as Korean sovereignty became increasingly threatened and the mobilization of the female population, regardless of social class, became an urgent matter. Thus, all Korean women were called upon to perform their patriotic duties as wise mothers and good wives to contribute to the strengthening of the country.
Rather than treat Korean women's education as a monolithic subject, this article examines the fir... more Rather than treat Korean women's education as a monolithic subject, this article examines the first schools for females established by the aristocratic yangban beginning in 1898 that reflected an effort to formalize elite female education and provide an alternative to the Christian missionary schools. Korean-founded schools adjusted their curriculum to include new subjects such as foreign languages, history, geography, and math while also offering erudite Confucian-based subjects vis-à-vis morals education, calligraphy, and literary Sinitic. These classical subjects were too advanced for the missionary schools to offer. The combination of these subjects was appropriate for women of elite households since they would marry government officials, diplomats, and scholars (also of yangban extraction), would need to be familiar with aristocratic etiquette and mores in a changing context, and would have to raise their children for their elite station in life. This changed after 1905 as Korean sovereignty became increasingly threatened and the mobilization of the female population, regardless of social class, became an urgent matter. Thus, all Korean women were called upon to perform their patriotic duties as wise mothers and good wives to contribute to the strengthening of the country.
In 1894 at the end of the Chosôn dynasty, the Korean government initiated a sweeping program of r... more In 1894 at the end of the Chosôn dynasty, the Korean government initiated a sweeping program of reforms known as the Kabo Reforms. This was an attempt to make unprecedented political, economic, and social changes that would modernize the country and establish an independent and sovereign state. However, there are conflicting depictions of the Kabo Reforms in contemporary scholarship, some describing the effort as a result of Japanese pressure and others portraying the incipient rise of a modern nation-state. This paper examines the reform efforts through American eyes of the time with the hope that a third-party perspective will provide insight on the issue. Did Americans feel that the reform program was led by Japanese “advisers” or did they believe this was a substantive development in Korea’s modernization and self-strengthening movement? Did it even matter who initiated the process, or was the outcome the most important issue? Missionaries, diplomats, political advisers, and journalists in Korea wrote about the reforms and their aftermath, and newspaper coverage in the U.S. informed the American public about events in the Far East, contributing to the formation of an image of a turbulent Korea in dire need of reform. Understanding the nature of the Kabo Reform movement from eyewitness accounts will demonstrate that the most important aspect of the reforms was their permanence and certitude. Regardless of the Japanese role in the reforms, there was overall agreement that Korea required a modernizing reform program that would actuate substantive and lasting change.
... Doctor of Philosophy in East Asian Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angel... more ... Doctor of Philosophy in East Asian Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angeles, 2008 Professor John B. Duncan, Chair The ... Response), Han 'guksa simin kanghwa 7 (1990) and Ha Wonho, "Kaehanghu chegukchuui ui ch'imt'al kwa kyongju kujo ui pyondong ...
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Female suicide was one of the many battlefields between the na-tionalist and the feminist movements during the colonial period. As an issue involving women at every level of society, it had the poten-tial to challenge the Confucian patriarchal system and bring to light the new needs of Korean women. However, as this analysis has shown, it was dismissed as a personal and trivial matter compared with the urgent public issue of national liberation. The rise of women's move-ments in Korea, fueled by a small clique of educated women, was ul-timately subsumed by the nationalist movement and relegated to the realm of the private and inconsequential.
Female suicide was one of the many battlefields between the na-tionalist and the feminist movements during the colonial period. As an issue involving women at every level of society, it had the poten-tial to challenge the Confucian patriarchal system and bring to light the new needs of Korean women. However, as this analysis has shown, it was dismissed as a personal and trivial matter compared with the urgent public issue of national liberation. The rise of women's move-ments in Korea, fueled by a small clique of educated women, was ul-timately subsumed by the nationalist movement and relegated to the realm of the private and inconsequential.