A Study On Western Missionaries' Views Of The Seclusion Of Korean Women And Their Domestic Roles During The Enlightenment Period

This thesis studies the Christian English publications published in Korea(The Korean Repository,Korea Review,and The Korea Mission Field)during the Enlightenment Period.Based on the analyses of articles regarding Korean women,the thesis mainly investigates the western missionaries'views on Korean women from the perspectives of the seclusion of women and their domestic life.Theories of civilizations and modernizations are employed.When analyzing the views of the missionaries,the mutual effects between the views and Korean society are also considered.The thesis pays attention to the dynamic changes of missionaries'views,instead of studying their views statically.Moreover,the views of the missionaries and those of the male intellectuals during the Enlightenment Period are compared,in order to grasp the characteristics and the complexity of the missionaries' views on Korean women during that time.The missionaries with publications had contact with Korean women of all classes,especially those from middle and lower classes.Besides the missionary work,they were also concerned about the status,education,healthcare,and domestic life of Korean women.Among them,to improve the status of Korean women and to help them establish the correct womanhood were the important goals of the western missionaries.Due to the strict "Inside-Outside Rule"(naewoebop)implemented in Korean society at that time,women were required to stay in the inner chamber of their home and were normally not allowed to appear in public.In the rare cases when they did have the need to show up in public,their faces had to be covered with changot.Western missionaries defined these phenomena as the seclusion of Korean women,and based on theories of civilizations,they criticized and pointed out that the seclusion of the Korean women symbolized a subnormal and backward civilization.Thus,missionaries carried out a series of activities including education,healthcare,and missionary,etc,,in order to enhance the status of Korean women and to liberate them from seclusion.However,they maintained and respected the tradition of face-covering with changot.This dual-attitude of the missionaries reflects the complexity of the collision of the two civilizations in modern space.Meanwhile,Korean women influenced by the western thoughts of freedom and equality began to demand more social participations and to expand their active spaces in the society.However,missionaries were negative towards and criticized the frequent social activities of Korean women,especially the activities involving politics and economy.This is because they believed that the appropriate sphere for Korean women should still be their homes.Western missionaries devoted to liberating women from seclusion in traditional Korean families,and expected to establish an ideal womanhood in modern Christian families.They pointed out that true women are "good mothers and good wives" playing roles in the domestic sphere in the modern society.These women have received modern education,and they could understand their husbands and cultivate a civilized next generation.At that time,the idea of regarding Korean women as the Mother of Citizens was popular among Korean Enlightenment intellectuals,which is similar to the aforementioned view of the missionaries.Hence,the domestic roles of the Korean women were relevant to the development of the nation.In conclusion,four main characteristics are revealed from the western missionaries'views on Korean women during the Enlightenment Period:criticizing the traditions which bound Korean women,reconciling with some traditional customs,underscoring the role that women played in the modem domestic lives,and integrating women into the context of the formation of the modern civilized nation.By studying the western missionaries' views on Korean women during the Enlightenment Period,this thesis not only develops an idea of some parts of the living conditions of Korean women at that time,but also explores the relationship among western missionaries,Korean women,and Korean male intellectuals,which are beneficial to the further understanding of Korean society in the Enlightenment Period.