IN OUR TIMES SERIES

    As one of its projects, the OKSPN (Overseas Korean Senior Professionals Network) has launched
    an essay project titled IN OUR TIMES.  It represents unique Korean-American experience and
    perspective shared by many members of OKSPN, most of whom have lived almost a half century
    in America since their arrival here, starting from the end of the Korean War.   As to "What and
    Why" of OKSPN, they are explained in the SKAS homepage (www.skas.org) under the
    heading of OKSPN.

    Contributions from its members will be posted in this OKSPN Forum.  We will follow a format
    similar to book jackets - About the Author, Author's photo, and the essay.  This is a project
    in progress, an open-ended one.   Any member of OKSPN, when their spirit moves them,
    can contribute with a view toward enhancing the Korean-American experience and hence
    provide insights gained from their experiences to all those who followed and will follow us
    in the future.

 IN OUR TIMES SERIES, PART 4

 The Great Korean Gender Shift
   Hildi Kang
   Research Fellow
   Center for Korean Studies
   UC Berkeley
   www.hildikang.com


   ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Hildi Kang, educator and writer, is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley, with a life-time interest in
   Korean history. Her publications include articles in the Transactionsof the Royal Asiatic Society, Korean
   Culture magazine, and contributor to the  "Proceedings of the Fourth Pacific and Asia Conference of Korea."
   Her other writings include four books for teachers, historical  fiction for children, and "Under the Black
   Umbrella: Voices from Korea 1910-1945, Cornell University Press.  Ms. Kang is a member of the
   Association for Asian Studies, National Coalition of Independent Scholars, the Institute for Historical Study,
   and SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators). Her husband is Dr. Sang-Wook Kang,
   Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (Retired), a member of OKSPN.

hildi


    The Great Korean Gender Shift
  Confucian Philosophy becomes Confucian Law
              
   Many people believe that Korea is now, and has forever been, a male-dominated society.
   Confucianism is so much a part of Korean thought that we unquestioningly believe it has
   always been that way.  Not so. The Confucian transformation of Korea began in earnest in
   1392 A.D. and intensified with each passing year.  Even so, it took the next 250 years to
   become secure. To appreciate the magnitude of this shift, we must look back into the
   previous dynasties.

    As we proceed,  keep in mind two important factors:  First, except for the two queens of
    Shilla, the civil service exam (kwago) and all government positions belonged to the men.
    Secondly, all our information comes from the upper classes for they were the only ones
    who kept written records.

     Koryo [918-1392 A.D.]

    Male-dominated Confucianism arrived in Korea from China even before Koryo times, yet
    in those early years it functioned mainly as a practical way to handle state affairs. In the
    private realm, long-held native customs held sway. To see how women fared in this far-off
    time, we will examine Koryo inheritance, marriage, and ancestor rituals. There, to our
    surprise, lurks gender equality.

    WOMEN SHARE THE INHERITANCE
    Inheritance in Koryo -- mainly land and slaves -- went to daughters as well as sons, for
    they all enjoyed equal rights and duties. Privately owned land listed both brother and
    sisters as co-heirs.

    In the early 1200s a case went before a judge when a father's will gave the major
    portion of the inheritance to the daughter, and the son received almost nothing. The
    judge ruled that a parent's devotion is impartial to all their children and therefore it
    could not have been the father's intention to be generous to one and stingy to the
    other. It appears that there was no special significance to the eldest son. He became
    important only if his parents left no will for the division of the inheritance, in which
    case he took over temporarily to divide the shares equally and ease any contention
    between siblings.

    WOMEN AND MARRIAGE
    In Koryo times, early household registers show that uxorilocal marriages (the newly
    married couple moved in with the wife's family) were the norm. The groom was
    often referred to as the "in-coming" son-in-law. Around age thirty the couple usually
    moved out to start their own home. Census registers of 1333 and 1372 list many
    women as heads of households.

    In Koryo, plural marriages were common, but with a significant difference from those
    in later Chosun.  These wives were not ranked.  A man simply married multiple women,
    all of equal rank.  Having more than one wife was possible because the man did not
    have to support each one -- remember the inheritance -- and often a wife continued to
    live with her birth family. The husbands apparently lived with each of their families on
    a rotating basis. A thought to cogitate on is the effect of this impartial treatment on the
    children, for equal wives meant equal children, thus all children were their father's
    rightful heirs and should expect equal shares of his property.

    If a marriage dissolved for any reason, the wife took her wealth and children and went
    back to her own family -- children belonged to the mother, not the father. This raises
    the question of which surname the children might carry, the mother's or the father's.
    The only reference I can find to this dilemma is in Deuchler's book, page 85: "Early
    Korean historical sources often were at a loss to record a person's 'correct' surname."
    meaning the person might be known by both or either his father's name and his
    mother's name.

    WOMEN AND ANCESTOR RITES
    We have seen that Koryo society was not prudish -- men and women generally
    maintained free and easy contact. This freedom carried over to the ancestor rites. Many
    upper class families already had accepted the Confucian practice of caring for the
    ancestors, but they carried out these rites in the custom of their times: responsibilities
    rotated equally among husbands, wives, sons and daughters.

    FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
    Societies make laws to curtail bothersome activities; a law to prohibit an activity
    implies that it must once have been common. Because of prohibitive laws enacted
    later during Chosun, we can surmise that Koryo women moved freely in society, both
    on foot and on horseback.

    Chosun  [1392-1910 A.D.]

    In 1392 the Koryo dynasty gave way to Chosun, and the new rulers sincerely wanted to
    revitalize the country -- government and populace -- by adhering to the new Confucian
    ideology put forth by the Chinese scholar, Chu Hsi. The change began.

    The new Chosun government transformed Korea into the society that is still familiar
    today. Confucian scholar-politicians assumed command and Confucian ideals became the
    official mode of government. The scholars became activists for social change, and
    Confucian rituals trickled down from the aristocracy to the rest of society. The
    process, however, faced a wall of passive resistance and the struggle continued
    throughout the next 250 years. Eventually Korea became the most Confucian of
    nations, as men moved into prominence and women moved to oblivion.

    Instead of using narrative form, I will set this section up by dates, so that the reader
    may better see the gradual but continual tightening of Confucian orthodoxy.

    1392:  Yangban women suddenly were not allowed to associate with men beyond a  
                certain degree of kinship.
    1400:  Women must not go out in open palanquins. Yangban women were banned from
                the streets during the day, for "they did not have to look after public affairs."
    1401:  Confucian funeral and mourning rites and ancestor rites were set in place to
                oppose the Buddhist custom of cremation, but people simply ignored the new
                rules.
    1404:  Buddhist temples declared off-limits to women.
    1412:  If a woman did go outside, her face and body must be fully covered.
    1413:  Wives are ranked, with a clear distinction between primary and secondary
                wives. Secondary wives are excluded from the list of kin.
    1427:  The Board of Rites again tries to force compliance to a male-only performance
                of ancestor rites. 
    1431:  Women forbidden to go to a shaman's house.
    1437:  The law tightens ancestor rites. Now they  must be done, not by any son, but by
                the eldest son. Only if the eldest son was unable, could younger sons, even male
                cousins, take over.  Never women.  Still, many families just ignored the law.
    1447:  Punishment begins. An entire family could be punished for "trespasses" of women.
                Women received 100 lashes for a temple visit or a mountain outing.
    1462:  Women forbidden to ride horseback, common in Koryo.
    1471:  First comprehensive Law Code compiled by the Hall of Worthies, officially
                ranked eldest son as preferred heir.
    1554:  Ancestor ritual now clearly forbids wives any ritual authority.  
    1500-1600:  Women lose control of their own property. A woman's inheritance (land,
                 money, slaves) no longer goes to her directly, because she is not responsible for
                 all those rituals. Inheritance from her own family now bypasses her and goes to
                 her husband, for he has responsibility for the multitude of ancestor rites.
    1600s: All power officially goes to eldest son -- ritual, economic, rights and duties.
                 Same-blood-line adoption begins, to fill the vacancy of an eldest son.
    1637:   In the preface of Ch'ong p'ung Kim-ssi sebo, a famous statesman, Kim Yuk wrote:
                 "A human being, upon being born, is initially only one single being, but it proliferates
                 and its descendants reach thousands of people. Seen from their beginnings, they
                 all came forth from the same origin.

                 Therefore, the sons of sons are grandsons and have the same family name as their
                 ancestors, and the sons of daughters are also grandsons, even though they have a
                 different family name.

                  Is someone's love for a daughter's sons different from the love for a son's sons?
                 The natural affection is exactly the same for both. How could I love exclusively my
                 sons and grandsons and not those equally loved by their ancestors?" [Deuchler, p.166]

                 His plea was ignored. Women now became mere links between the father's (inside)
                 and mother's (outside) line. In family registers, women are listed only as someone's
                 wife. In her husband's register, she is only someone's daughter.

    1700:   Women gradually lose all property rights.
    1750:   Genealogies list sons and then daughters.
    1800:   Genealogies leave daughters out altogether. Women are listed only as "he married
                 a lady of the so-and-so clan."

    Women were expected to be content with this ever more constrictive life. Read instead to the
    words written by a 14 year old girl circa 1830.

    "Man has his place between heaven and earth as one of the three divisions of creation, and
    woman shares it with him. Yet she is hidden away in the inner quarters, buried out of sight.
    When she goes out she covers her head and wears a coat by which her limbs are always
    bundled. She is not at liberty to go out by herself; she is like a prisoner, unconvicted of any
    wrong, yet locked up for life.

    Yet she has a heart and soul that yearns to break free from every bond and become
    something more in the world than a mere kitchen drudge. Why should these meaningless
    restrictions be put upon her?

     Must I be imprisoned and be satisfied behind the bars?  Must I follow the usual path and
     be buried from sight forever. Hence my plan was made, and I spoke many times to my
     parents about it. After a long delay, they agreed. That very day I had a boy's suit made."
     [Then she and her parents traveled all around the peninsula].

                                Kumwon, born 1816.
                                Horak hongjo (Footprints of the Wild Goose)

      Conclusion

      In conclusion, we realize that any "ism" has both good and bad qualities, and when
      pushed to its extreme, it is easy for people to focus on the bad. In the years of late
      Chosun, Korea surely experienced the darker side of Neo-Confucianism, especially in its
      treatment of women. Let us end by remembering that the same Confucian ethics
      instilled in Asia the positive qualities of loyalty, politeness, regard for education,
      respect for authority, and responsibility to the group.
 
References:
Haboush, JaHyun Kim. "Confucianization of Korean Society," in Confucian Heritage:
Gilbert Rozman, ed., Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1991 (pages 99-106)

Deuchler, Martina.  Confucian Transformation of Korea, Cambridge, Harvard
University Press, 1992 (Koryo: pages 34-85; Chosun: pages 130-193, 223-279)

Haboush, J and Deuchler, M., eds. Culture and the State in Late Chosôn Korea
Cambridge,  Harvard University Asia Center, 1999 (pages 46-133)
Kumwon. "Horak Hongjo (Footprints of the Wild Goose)" in Transactions of the Royal
Asiatic Society, Seoul, 1993. Translated by Richard Rutt, p.57