Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rapier]

Good to see Korean women banding together more in their own interest. Hope they have a good time.

Girls' night out: No blood, no tears and no men

October 01, 2005 �� The organizers of "No Blood, No Tears Night" didn't expect to receive hate mail and threatening phone calls telling them to stay quietly at home.
But Korean male chauvinism runs deep, so when the feminist magazine "If" decided to hold a women-only party on Seonyu Island, a public park in Seoul, even the park officials were wary.
"Apparently, some people were upset to hear that a group of feminists were holding a party of their own," said Ko Joo-young, one of the organizers.
Although it's billed as just a girls' night out �� with live music, snacks and a magic show �� the title of the event is an adamant cry protesting violence against women in a country where many such crimes occur in the evening in public places.
The sponsoring magazine is known for more controversial events, such as their annual "Anti-Miss Korea" beauty pageant, and a conference on female-sensitive pornography. The name of the magazine "If" signifies the question, "What if there was a world where men and women could both be happy despite gender differences?"
Founded in 1997 as Korea's first feminist publication, "If" and its staff writers have more than their share of gripes. In one issue, writer Ryu Hye-jin described how a 52-year-old man had cursed at her for smoking in front of her office. He was furious that she dared to smoke in sight of a man who could be as old as her father. When she protested, the man punched Ms. Ryu in the face. She called the police, and he was arrested.
"Some say that Korean society has liberalized," Ms. Ryu wrote. "But a woman can still be beaten for smoking. It is not the right to smoke in peace that women want, but equality. Many people in Korea still believe that only grandmothers and prostitutes can smoke outside."
When the group planned its all-girl party on the island, park officials received numerous protests from men who wanted to prohibit the event. Some asked why feminists challenge men, when men exist to protect women.
"I think [the protesters] were just intrigued or even feel intimidated by the fact that we are excluding the men from the fun," said Um Eul-soon, president of If.
The event is not an ordinary girls' night out, but is part of a long campaign against sexual harassment and gender bias. "No Blood, No Tears Night," will mix music, performances and all-you-can-drink beer with counseling from experts on domestic and social problems.
Park officials, mostly middle-aged men, were reluctant to approve the gathering. "Do you girls have to gather on a public island to drink until late at night?" one asked. "It doesn't look right."
Ms. Um fired back, "What's so wrong with a simple outdoor party? Men always go to sealed up room salons to drink all night. Who knows what's going on in there?"
The organizers say the event is a form of defiant protest in response to a recent National Police Agency report stating that more than half of the sexual violence cases from 2001 to 2005 occurred between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. The report also showed that more than 30 percent of the cases have occurred in public places or outdoors.
Another incident that provoked the organizers was the trial last year of Yoo Yeong-cheol, a man who committed 21 rapes and murders. In court, Yoo said he was sorry for his crimes, but not sorry that the women he killed were "easy girls who usually hung around at night." In June, he was sentenced to death.
Previous events organized by the magazine include annual "Anti-Miss Korea" pageants since 1999. Last year, If attracted a lot of attention by planning an event called "Porno, Porna," a roundtable discussion on designing pornography that reflects the desires of women. It was a sort of extension of the Anti-Miss Korea pageants, but much more provocative.
"Porno, Porna" also used one-act plays, dance performances and fashion shows �� all about sex �� to deal with sensitive issues such as sexual acts between physically disabled people and homosexual relationships.

"No Blood, No Tears Night" will be held from 7p.m. to 10p.m. on Friday, October 7 at Seonyu Island, a public park that straddles the Yanghwa bridge in western Seoul. The nearest subway station is Hapjeong on the number 2 line. Although billed as a female-only event, men dressed as women are also welcome, say organizers.


Diplomatic and dogged �� carrying the feminist torch

Meeting the president of Korea's first feminist magazine is enough to make some men squirm.
Lesser women might enjoy this reaction as sweet revenge for injustice they have suffered in Korea's male-dominated society. But Um Eul-soon takes a more practical attitude.
It's "boorish" to offend the counterpart and claim "we are equal," says Um. "There are various ways of persuading others that a different world is possible. Why make needless enemies when you can solve everything through a softer approach?"
Her track record is impressive. Um's magazine "If" was one of the first to raise many sensitive gender issues including abortion, single motherhood and homosexuality. Meanwhile, support for activism like the "Anti-Miss Korea" pageant that began in 1999 led Korea's major broadcasters to cancel their decade-long tradition of airing the Miss Korea pageants two years later in 2001.
Her accomplishments can intimidate people. But after receiving her warm welcome and a cup of coffee, sitting right next to her on the couch, most are at a loss for words. Until they find themselves stupidly saying, "Wow, you are not like what I had imagined at all."
Wearing a pair of long black boots and a pink scarf, her answer on a recent day was, "Oh, that's what everyone says when they first see me."
"Did you expect someone hostile and ugly- looking as well?" she asked in a straightforward manner.
She said she knows that many Koreans regard feminists as "bunch of unattractive girls getting involved in reckless collective actions to make up for what they don't have."
"So I dress up, I want to look attractive," she said. "But not so I will look nice for others to look at, but so I can be proud of myself."
The 49-year-old is a chirpy jolly person. A former freelance photographer and a doctoral fellow in business administration, Ms. Um did not have an academic background in women's studies nor was she ever a radical student activist. It was simply her life as a Korean woman that gradually turned her into someone who wanted change and helped others to find solutions.
She was concerned about many issues: married Korean women who could not stand up to conservative in-laws, divorced women who are often subject to moral stereotypes, pressure for women to meet the standards of beauty set by men. (As a photographer, she protested the latter point with close-up pictures of a chubby-faced wrinkled woman, a photo that was turned down by a male boss for being ugly.)
The South Korean feminist movement has evolved over the years.
In the 1970s, female workers at production lines joined the women's advocacy movement. They also opposed government-led sex tours marketed to foreigners. In the 1980s, the movement became more organized, sometimes involving violent clashes with the police. In the 1990s, activists began approaching more personal issues such as marriage and dating.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200509/30/200509302254318839900091009101.html

[crazylemongirl]

Good on her, though I'm sure it won't be long before someone will come on here and complain about how feminism has turned chicks in the west into ugly, confrontational, masculine women.

[Mashimaro]

[Dan The Chainsawman]

I saw some of those man hating western girls down in Hongdae and they sure weren't ugly. They all seemed a fairly nice bunch of lady's and would back those gals up in a bar fight anyday.

[uberscheisse]

once again, 1964 gets on the phone and says "hey korea, we want our issues back!!!"

[djsmnc]

Damn street smokin hussies!

[Real Reality]

Do you think the ladies discussed their required military service?
Perhaps, they talked about ways to reduce their expenses related to dates when they go out with men. (Men never spend any money on dates, right? They usually expect women to pay.)

[krats1976]

[jaderedux]

[Real Reality]

[Mashimaro]

[alinkorea]

The advancement of womens' rights in Korea is a major issue. The Korean moral code, largely Confucianism, maintains womens' subservient role. Legally women don't enjoy the same rights as men.
The fact a women can't smoke publicly without being thought of as a harlot is appalling.
Many foreigners, quite correctly, advocate the advancement of their rights in Korea. Surley the rights of Korean women is also an issue we foreigners can support.
Complaining that Korean women don't pay their way on dates or complete military service is missing the point.
Regarding previous replies to this topic: RR highlights it is suspected that women are becoming more violent. How is that relevant? Their rights should continue to be surpressed until this trend is reversed?
A man was raped and subsequently has to pay child support! A tragic story, but it has no relevance at all to this topic.

[Real Reality]

[Octavius Hite]

whoa, you can really tell some of the men who inhabit this place are real pigs. Korea, when it comes to women's rights, is backwards. They are in the stoneage and it makes this wannabe feminist sick to his stomach. We should support these women in everything they do.

[alinkorea]

RR. Surely you'd accept your examples of gender bias favouring women are the exceptions rather than the rule. The fact men occassionly suffer sex discrimination doesn't detract from the fact women, especially in Korea, are not treated as our equals. Simply, this is wrong and any group of people, such as "If" prepared to address the issue should be supported.