Korean Feminism: Biology Matters

Courtesy of Mika Baumeister

By David Tizzard

The 'F' word can be rather explosive in Korea. Uttering it in polite society causes stares, visible discomfort, and often the immediate changing of a topic. The topic is divisive. It doesn't have to be that way, of course. But, for many people, it is.

While Korean feminism and discussions around gender have been characterized by various domestic and international media outlets as explosive, this short piece will try to offer some suggestions as to why that is the case. The conclusion, in case you can't wait that long is as the title suggests: In Korea, biology matters.

Let's start by talking waves. Very broadly, and from a largely western perspective, first-wave feminism took place during the 19th and early 20th century and was focused on voting rights and legal equality. Powerful figures demanded change, inclusion, and recognition. American abolitionist and women's rights activist, Sojourner Truth, introduced a powerful dynamic by asking, "Ain't I a Woman?" Second-wave feminism took place in the 1960s and built on the previous movement by introducing demands for change in the workplace, in the family, regarding sexuality, and contraceptive rights. It addressed violence in society and against women. By the 1990s, people were talking of third-wave feminism and associating it with subcultures such as riot grrrl bands like L7 but also with the empowerment of the Spice Girls. It brought with it discussions of intersectionality, an increased focus on post-modernity, and micro perspectives told through personal narratives. The fourth wave started around 2010 and was characterized primarily by the medium of the internet and social media: cyberfeminism and digital communication gave a new edge to these long-standing discussions.

Obviously they are very broad strokes just to provide a brief overview but also to reaffirm an important idea: Korea is experiencing second-wave content take place on fourth-wave mediums. The discussions here are not so much about intersectionality, pronouns, or trans issues but instead looking at sexual violence, safety, and spycams. And unlike the 1960s of the west, on the streets of Paris or San Francisco, these Korea conversations are taking place on Twitter, Insta, and various other websites. Sometimes anonymously. Sometimes not. This means that Korea's feminism has a completely different epistemological journey from other countries. Social media produces a distinct interaction from books, newsletters, and radio. And with South Korea one of the world's most digitally wired countries, this digital format has shaped the conversation in many ways.

But that still leaves the question of what feminism actually is. Again, to apply some broad strokes for the sake of brevity, let's consider five feminist perspectives. Liberal feminism is a branch that seeks legal and social equality. It looks to achieve this by focusing on similarities between men and women, finding common ground in their humanity and seeing this as more important than physical or biological differences. Conversely, standpoint feminism focuses on the differences between men and women. It argues that biology and history matter. These factors have created men and women that see the world fundamentally different from each other. This is an important distinction: are women and men to be understood as the same: as human? Or different: as distinct genders? If they are seen as equal it ultimately does not matter whether a woman or man rules society providing they both get a fair shot at doing so. For standpoint feminism, however, women leaders will bring completely different perspectives and solutions to the questions posed and thus have the capability of creating different societies.

Poststructural feminism tries to erase concepts of man and women altogether, believing they are social constructs reinforced by the colors blue and pink, by dinosaurs and dolls, by doctors and nurses. Postcolonial feminism identifies differences not between women and men but between women and women. It tries to highlight how lived experiences in non-western countries are not adequately represented in other mainstream approaches. It asks how much Emma Watson (for example) would know about being raised as a young woman in an authoritarian Confucian or Muslim society. Marxist feminism sees the economic system as the ultimate issue to be addressed: that as long as we are individual consumers in a capitalist system, women will always be oppressed and subject to pink taxes.

It would take a lot more room to adequately describe these various forms and that's what I attempt to do in my university lectures on feminism and gender in South Korea. But for now, let me share with you some of the observations gained from these classes. Over the past few semesters I have asked students to identify one of the feminist perspectives that they feel drawn to or is perhaps the one that they feel best describes their own outlook. Obviously this is a bit of a bad question because they are not mutually exclusive and many would feel affinity with many, if not all. Nevertheless, through a blind and anonymous submission, students pick one of above approaches.

The differences every semester are stark. For my international students, young adults who come from all over the world to study and live in South Korea, liberal feminism is always the most popular. Normally receiving around 60-70% of the votes. Marxist feminism and post-structural feminism also score reasonably high. However, for my Korean students, it is always standpoint feminism that is the most popular. There will normally be around 80% of the class choosing this approach. This is of course not to say there is a right answer. Nor am I suggesting that it is true of every Korean woman.

Yet it does seem to reaffirm what others have written and observed. In a conversation on Korean feminism and feminist literature, Beth Eunhee Hong said that Korean feminism focuses on "biological female solidarity." She accepts that this is a legitimate take and it is likely borne out of Korea's history and culture. Nevertheless, it is different from the feminism that she and many others have experienced in other parts of the world.

Thus, some women and men in Korea view the sexes as fundamentally different and do so through a biological lens. It's not about being the same, it's about being different. And different on largely immutable biological grounds rather than the social construct of genders as espoused elsewhere.

Perhaps this idea traces back to Confucian ideas of separation (byul) and that the relationship between woman and man should be marked by distinction and role differentiation (bu-bu-yoo-byul). Maybe it's more modern and arose during the construction of a post-colonial capitalist military society in the second half of the twentieth century that asked all of its men to protect the country from the communists in the north. Now, in 2022, Pink parking spaces with little icons of women in skirts are in most car parks here, allowing women to park closer to entrances and exits for their safety. Seats on the subway are marked the same way for pregnant women. Various universities allow young women to use 'magic days' and have one off per month to deal with their periods. Biological differences are not deconstructed. They are reinforced.

Maybe there will be some who have a completely different take on the characteristics of Korean feminism. It's certainly not my intention to try and say what it is. Merely to offer observations gleaned from the hundreds of young adults I interact with. It is also trying to help those not in Korea to understand that feminism here might be called by the same name as in other countries, but the understandings and principles that underpin it are sometimes very different.

Dr. David A. Tizzard (datizzard@swu.ac.kr) has a Ph.D. in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He is a social/cultural commentator and musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He is also the host of the Korea Deconstructed podcast, which can be found online. The views expressed in the article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times.