ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

This study explores the emergence and development of the ‘female public sphere’ in Korean society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The female public sphere began to appear when some noble-class women published the Circular for the Establishment of a Girls’ School. The women established a new Female Education Society (FES) to support the school for girls in 1898. The FES had regular meetings which included speeches and discussions of women’s rights. The members of the FES participated in political demonstrations with the members of the Independent Club to argue for the right of education for women. The activities of FES contributed to the emergence of a female public sphere in Korean society. The reason many noble-class women contributed to the formation of a female public sphere in Korean society is that there had been a literary public sphere for women since the late Chosŏn Dynasty. This sphere would change to a political public sphere and, as a result, contribute to the emergence of a female public sphere. Although the school for girls established by the FES didn’t last long, it was very influential in Korean society. Many people participated in the voluntary association for women’s education and these efforts resulted in the establishment of around 200 private schools for girls by 1910. Based on the development of a female public sphere, many Korean women could participate in Korean independence movements, such as the March First Movement.

키워드