Women's Literacy and New Womanhood in Late Choson Korea

Abstract

Until the late 19th Century most Korean women were excluded from obtaining literacy because society dismissed the intellectual capabilities of women. This article examines the historical context and various forces that provided critical momentum for female literacy in late 19th Century Korea. The foci of analysis in this article are American missionaries and Korean intellectuals, the two groups that contributed significantly to the spread of literacy for women. I argue that the primary goal of the missionaries was to convert Koreans to Christianity and literacy was an expedient means for accomplishing this objective. Korean intellectuals, who were mainly interested in the modernization of Korea, regarded women's literacy as important within the scheme of modernizing the country. Even though neither of these two groups advocated literacy for the direct benefit of women, this was an unintended and undeniable result of their efforts. In turn, this proved to be a path-breaking step in countering centuries old prejudice and discrimination against women and signaled the gradual but critical formation of new womanhood in modern Korea.