한국사 속에서 여성의 공적영역과 사적영역 - 전근대사회로부터 개화기까지 -

Public and Private Spheres of Women in the History of Korea

This study is to explore how Korean women had been identified in public and private spheres throughout Korean history. Since the state was formed in ancient society, the organization of the state had been occupied by the men-centered ruling class, and men's strength and power had dominated the society. Therefore, women's roles of peaceful and equal community society in ancient times had been reduced and women's productive role became institutionally ignored. Historically, restrictions to women's activities were appeared variously by many factors such as the ideology of the rule, characteristics of ruling system and changes in socio-economic situation. From ancient Three Kingdoms' Period, Korean society was ruled by Buddhism and despotic monarchy. Kory dynasty equivalent to the Medieval Age was an aristocratic society which sought to establish a coexisting system of Buddhism and Confucianism in parallel. At that time, people thought Confucianism took charge of real politics, while Buddhism was for spiritual world. Accordingly, the method of regulating women was also differed. In particular, Chosun dynasty adopted Neo-Confucianism, Sungrihak(性理學), as a ruling ideology by denouncing Buddhism had exploited the regulation of women in more rigid form by employing a family as a fundamental unit of the state's control. By identifing women's spheres changed in causal relations of the contemporary society, the clue of what were the major factors of defining women's status/position may be found. The "public sphere" of women, in pre-modern society, was related to the state or the royal family, and there was few opportunity for women's actitivity. However, in political sector, a few women of the royal family could throned as a queen; as a mother of royal successor, if her son was crowned in very young age she ruled as a regent for a while. Sometimes she was responsible for deciding next successor as the highest senior in the royal family if a mishap was happened to the, young king. In ancient times, women who were wives of governmental officials had to play a certain political role. In economic sector in pre-modern society women's employment and social activities were not accepted in general. However, there were specific job areas which should be done by women only, and some women who had learned specific skills could engage in such occupations: for instance, court ladies(宮女), entertainers(妓女), medical curer(醫女), and technicians who employed at minor offices for handicraft manufactures in ancient times etc. Also there were women who had a kind of professional skills and received some payment and/or rewards from the government, and in turn paid the income tax to the state: those were women shamans(巫女). In the meantime, the "private sphere" of women was largely concentrated on roles of daughters, daughters-in-law, wives, and mothers within the family. Since women were the subject of family life, women were working for family business. Women could have religious beliefs in order to have some consolation on conflicts arisen from everyday life and involve in arts and academic activities as a means of self-expression. Women in pre-modern period were much more active in the private sphere and these activities were the whole life of the majority women excluding a very few women who could participate in the public sphere. In the transition of modern society after the Enlightenment Period of Korea, opportunities of public education were opened to women and various devices suppressed women were released, which led to change in public and private spheres. Women's role in politics were rather shrunken and activities in economic, educational and cultural sectors became remarkable. This is said to be a historical phenomenon resulted from the extension of women's social participation by autonomic efforts of women, who raised their consciousness and restored their self-esteem so that rejected to conduct given roles passively