Speaking about the gender policy of Korea in the period from the end of the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st century, one cannot help noticing the significant changes that occur in the minds of women and men-this is also a departure from traditional, patriarchal norms, and a preponderance of individualism and personal values. A combination of a unique Korean mentality with imported Western elements of culture. Now that more attention is paid to human rights, environmental protection, peace and security issues, this topic is relevant all over the world.
As is known, the problem of gender inequality is known not only by the hearsay not only to the Western world, but also to the Eastern world. For a long time the position of the woman left much to be desired, which, in fact, did not give any chance to the development of gender equality and institutional development of gender policy. For a decade, the woman was associated with those whose duties were household chores. However, the process of globalization, all in more and more, covering almost all countries, makes it possible to make a culture common, to adopt common universal values.
Gender policy is a completely new phenomenon for Korea, which emerged in the early 90s of the 20th century, which again reflects Korea's ability to change, to borrow experience from the West. This branch of politics is called upon to form a fundamentally new society — a society of equal opportunities. This is a society where a woman and a man exist as equal partners. Institutional development within the framework of gender policy is designed to get rid of the problems that existed for several decades — discrimination, violence, intimidation. In other words, through the prism of gender policy, one can trace how the Korean society is changing, whether positive changes are taking place. On the other hand, gender policy can itself change society a little — to cultivate in the society mutual respect of the sexes, to get rid of the problems of inequalities.
Today, when not only individual feminist organizations but also international organizations speak about the rights of women, it is impossible to leave this issue without attention. An understanding of what a woman can do in a particular country depends on what the state is doing for this. The study of the specifics of gender policy allows not only a deeper understanding of the problem of gender inequality, but also allows for a better understanding of the society within which the policy is implemented. Due to the fact that the gender issue, along with other global issues, is in Korea's priority and the policy is being implemented right now, this topic can be considered relevant.
Summarizing, we can say that the world has become better than it was at the beginning of the XX century. Great progress has been made: education and literacy have become more widespread, progress has been made in medicine science, information exchange around the world has expanded, so that all kinds of oppression become increasingly costly for the oppressors.
Another step forward is the voice of women, which is heard louder and concerns both their private and public life. In the 20th century, women won the right to vote in the elections, the 20th century, and the right to be elected to elective posts in most countries, at least potentially. They have achieved legislation on special protection for them as toilers, and such laws have been adopted for the benefit of women. They have increased their access to health and education. They have successfully developed, at both the local and international levels; a set of women's rights equated to general human rights, and incorporated gender issues as an integral part of development policy.
To date, gender policy is quite a new phenomenon for Korea, Japan and China, but has to do with issues that have existed for many years — the problems of inequality, coercion, violence. For a long time, a woman in the countries listed above, as it were, supplemented the man, and was not a person who has the right to make certain decisions herself. This could not but affect the formation of a certain model of the behavior of women, where a special place is given to work at home, caring for loved ones. That is, a woman for a long time was tied, in the figurative sense of the word, to the house.
The status of a woman consisted of many things — traditions, customs, education in families, etc. Of no small importance was the patriarchal tradition, where the father, husband, elder brother played far from the last role in the life of women and often could make decisions for it and against the will. Naturally, such problems could not be solved in a short period of time, since this would mean a complete rejection of traditions in the direction of something else, unusual for the population.
The roots of the beginning of gender policy go back to the middle of the 20th century, when the constitution was adopted in Korea and Japan, in China the 1911 revolution took place — it was these events that made a woman and a man equal in rights. Thus, a woman has every chance of being on a par with men. To achieve this goal, women have gone for decades — from feminist actions in the 60s and 70s, to the current stage of formal institutionalization of gender policy.
The status of women today is the successes of both past years and today's gender policy. Today, a woman can get higher education, work, and engage in entrepreneurial activities on a par with men. Moreover, a woman is free to choose in matters of family planning and not to depend on what the traditional norms dictate. Here you can note the significant changes in the status of women, which occurred in different spheres. If we talk about the family sphere, then here the woman has the full right to be on a par with the man, to be protected from discrimination and violence. In other words, it is very different from a traditional family that you could see earlier. The next sphere, in which changes have also occurred, can be considered a professional sphere — a woman can open her own business or work in any organization, while the possibility of career growth is not limited to sexual qualifications.
The status of a woman in Japan still remains a controversial phenomenon, since it is not yet possible to say whether equality has been achieved, or not. In any case, there is a positive dynamics after a few dozen years. In this delicate question, sometimes-contradictory aspects intertwine: custom, law, education, etc. For example, if a person has been brought up in the spirit of patriarchal traditions, it will be extremely difficult for him to understand and adopt a gender policy. On the status of women in Korea, many scientific articles have already been written, which are similar in only one, that this question is very delicate and controversial.
If we talk about political, economic and cultural areas, we can see significant changes here. First, women help other women through educational programs, professional development programs, women can engage in political activities, promote economic development.
Undoubtedly, gender policy has its goals — both the final and the near future. As an ultimate goal, one can single out the achievement of a society of equal opportunities, where a woman and a man will act on an equal footing, and imposed stereotyped patterns of behavior that no one is obligated to follow. Undoubtedly, gender policy is based on respect for human rights, the right to choose religion, traditions. To achieve the ultimate goal of achieving a society of equal opportunities, the Korean state uses a variety of methods, from educational activities to coordination with international organizations. To date, gender policy can be traced at several levels — at the state level, at the level of social movements, internationally.
As another basic principle, we can distinguish the following — the measures taken, laws, actions should contribute to the achievement of a society of equal opportunities.
Despite the fact that the topic of the status of a woman is quite a popular problem, it is still very delicate — there is no unequivocal view on whether a woman is seriously discriminated against, or whether discrimination in Korea does not differ from inequality in other countries.
Today, a woman in Korea can have much more opportunities than it was a few decades ago. Undoubtedly, Korea has much to strive for, but the percentage ratio between men and women in this area is still going on with a big gap.
Perhaps it is only a matter of time and in the near future the positions of large companies will be dealt with by women, wages will be equal, and a woman will be able to choose a place of work based on her own criteria, and not because of the acute need for funds.
References:
- Ballaeva E. A. China: Women's Rights // Gender Equality in the Modern World: The Role of National Mechanisms. M., 2008.
- Gender problems and development. Stimulation of development through gender equality in rights, in the availability of resources and the opportunity to express one's interests / Per.sng.ng.-M: «Ves Mir» Publishing House, 2001. – 408p.
- Gender equality is the basis of decent work. International Labor Office. Geneva. 2009.
