This study examines how the concept of "Korean woman" underwent a radical transformation in Korea's public discourse during the years of Japanese colonialism. Theodore Jun Yoo shows that as women moved out of traditional spheres to occupy new positions outside the home, they encountered the pervasive control of the colonial state, which sought to impose modernity on them. While some Korean women conformed to the dictates of colonial hegemony, others took deliberate pains to distinguish between what was "modern" (e.g., Western outfits) and thus legitimate, and what was "Japanese," and thus illegitimate. Yoo argues that what made the experience of these women unique was the dual confrontation with modernity itself and with Japan as a colonial power.
The Politics of Gender in Colonial Korea Education, Labor, and Health, 1910–1945
About the Book
Reviews
“A valuable stepping stone toward the discourse analysis of gender issues in the colonial historiography, and will provide a good source for classes on colonial modernity or colonial gender politics.”—Korean Studies
“A pleasure to read and accessible to the non-specialist . . . There is no single book that presents so much information on this aspect of Korean history and does it so well.”—American Historical Review
“Few books on Korean history bring to life the complexity as well as the vitality of their subject as does The Politics of Gender in Colonial Korea.”—Korean Quarterly
“Yoo’s book is characterized by solid scholarship and compelling historical detail. . . . The result is a richly detailed, engaging, and theoretically elegant examination of gender ideology in colonial Korea. It will prove a valuable resource to those with research and teaching interests in Asia, gender, and colonialism. It is accessible enough to be used in the undergraduate classroom and sophisticated enough to be incorporated into graduate seminars.”—American Journal of Sociology
“Very useful . . . Engaging.”—Asian Journal of Women’s Studies"Thorough and thoughtful.Yoo's densely researched history, filled with compelling stories, makes an important intervention in the field of gender and colonialism."—Antoinette Burton, University of Illinois
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. Women in Chosen Korea
Chapter 2. The “New Woman” and the Politics of Love, Marriage, and Divorce in Colonial Korea
Chapter 3. The Female Worker: From Home to the Factory
Chapter 4. Discoursing in Numbers: The Female Worker and the Politics of Gender
Chapter 5. The Colonized Body: Korean Women’s Sexuality and Health
Conclusion
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Related Books
It's Madness
Theodore Jun Yoo
The Koreas
Theodore Jun Yoo
Huang Di Nei Jing Ling Shu
Paul U. Unschuld
Nan Jing
Paul U. Unschuld
A History of Modern Tibet, Volume 3
Melvyn C. Goldstein
Maiden Voyage
Joshua A. Fogel
Republican Lens
Joan Judge
The Gods Left First
Andrew E. Barshay
The Nature of the Beasts
Ian Jared Miller