11 Ham Sep’ung: Women’s Liberation Means Social Progress3 [Excerpt]
[ “Yŏja Haebang i Chŭk Chinbo,” Kaebyŏk (September 1920): 43–45 ]
We should celebrate the fact that the issue of women’s liberation is emerging in Korean society as a point of discussion. I think this is good for our nation. One might worry about the potential problems that could arise if we simply advocate women’s liberation by uncritically imitating the examples of Western countries, where women are allowed to act freely in society, without first considering if Korean women are prepared to take on new freedoms. However, the fact that women’s liberation is advocated in Korean society nowadays is an indication that our society is awakening. This is a sign that there is a promise of future happiness in our society. Some argue that there are reasons why women are inevitably in an inferior position to men, but this claim is subject to question. According to a theory of evolution, women’s brains are smaller than men’s brains but larger than children’s, and thus women’s intelligence cannot be equal to men’s. But I strongly assert that this cannot be used as proof that women are inherently inferior to men. An argument based on evolution focuses on the inferior status of women, without paying attention to its actual causes. Whether women’s intelligence is inferior to men’s should not be discussed as a matter of their inherent nature. Rather, I argue that it should be understood in relation to the education they are receiving. If we look at the condition women live in at present, they are confined to the home and constrained by a life-long duty of sewing. As a result, there is no way for them to be independent in this competitive society. They are not given the opportunity to become well-trained scholars. That is deplorable! I can say with all confidence that, if the rationale that women are inherently less intelligent than men prevents us from allowing the liberation of women, social morals will eventually be destroyed, and the survival of society could be threatened. For example, if only men are engaged in scholarship, knowledge in certain fields might be developed, but the development of a more comprehensive knowledge for humankind will be hampered. Even knowledge specific to men will tend to lag behind.
It is generally acknowledged that the men of our society are inferior to Western men in intelligence. That means we will need to compete with Western men from now on, and at the same time liberate the women in our society so that they can develop and grow. Otherwise, we cannot be in the same rank as the men of Western countries. We ought to be mindful that only when our compatriot women reach the point where they are able to digest the knowledge that men have can we be as good as Western men. […]
It is a world trend that women should also strive for an independent life. From the standpoint of human morality, once we acknowledge women’s need for an independent life, it is only right for us to open doors for them so that they can discover their individual talents. I also believe that we should abolish old customs, which mistreat women, and immediately liberate women, allowing them to have a practical education appropriate to their feminine nature. It is unreasonable to restrict education for women, but it should be practical. For example, cooking is a practical skill to learn. Yet, in order to cook well, one should learn something about chemistry and physiology. Raising children is also practical knowledge. But there is no doubt that one needs to know about hygiene, psychology, and education to raise children well. In order to expand the opportunity for women to acquire practical knowledge, we need to provide them with higher, more professional training. The reason why Greek literature developed was because they had the peerless female poet Sappho.27 Building the Great British Empire was possible because of Queen Elizabeth. How can we say that only men can be geniuses? Great women give birth to genius men, so there must be a strong relationship between men and women. The liberation of women is not simply for the sake of women themselves. It is an absolute requirement for social progress. Therefore, I think that no other issue is more urgent than offering equal opportunities to both men and women, in order for us to improve morality and advance sound knowledge for our society.
In the original text, the Greek female poet’s name is spelled Ssadek.↩︎