Portrayal and Depiction of Women in the Korean Literature Influenced by the Korean War

My topic is focus on females in Korean literatures. Korean female's literature is deeply influenced by patriarchy. From the rise of Korean modern novels in the 1920s to the 1990s, Korean female's literature mostly represented females' subordination of the patriarchalism. This subordination is reflected in many aspects of the works, for example, females are sexual desire tools of males; females must be parasitic in men; females are alienated from society and their legal statuses are seriously low. Although the female's literature in this period pointed out that there were problems in females' unfair treatments in the society, it still failed to point out the correct direction of activities for females because the writers' creations did not deviate from the traditional females' views, and the ending of the works mostly compromises with reality. Although individual novels also advocate that the unfavorable social conditions should be changed, this is only a special case that has not developed into a universal social concept. Korean female's literature is an important part of Korean literature. Obviously, the development of Korean female's literature is closely related to the changes in Korean social history. It profoundly reflects the social psychology, moral standards, and status of males and females in each era. It reflects the values, thinking patterns, behavioral characteristics, etc. of females in that era. Greatly promote females' awakening, help females to know themselves, pursue themselves, and improve themselves. This kind of literary genre itself is constantly developing and breaking through in the awakening of females. With the development of the times, it gradually shows a new era theme suitable for all mankind. It not only has great historical value, but also has great practical significance.

Novels and realist novels that promoted free love in the 1920s were all the rage. In the 1930s, female's literature was further developed, showing that female's literature occupies its own place in the male-centered literary history: to correctly understand the female literature of the 1930s must be linked to two aspects, one is the Japanese imperialist rule The bleak social reality and resistance, and the popularization of female consciousness in society. The female literature in this period profoundly exposed the serious absolute poverty problem in this special era. After the end of the Korean War in the 1950s, American culture landed in South Korea. At the same time, Western European thoughts and modernity also profoundly affected Korean society. The novels of this period are different from the past, advocating the material and psychological independence of female, which undoubtedly accelerates the modernization of the novel. In the 1960s and 1970s, the combination of old fictional forms and content rich in modernity became a fresh highlight of the novel. Female literature in the 1980s emphasized the female psychology in the ordinary life. In the 1990s, female's literature began to deeply touch the individuality and desire of female from the root.

Historical tragedies such as the rule of Japanese imperialism and the June 25th war of the 1950s forced South Korean mothers to work extremely hard for their families and suffer from unspeakable suffering in the absence of food and clothing. In the 1960s and 1970s, with the Vietnam War as an opportunity, South Korea’s industrialization was beginning to take shape. The Korean society called on young female to walk out of the factory for their families and families. In this way, female have turned from housewives to cheap laborers and engaged in hard labor. In order to further consolidate the country's strength, Korean society has continuously instilled through the mass media the idea that “the country can only rise if it sacrifices itself and dedication to keep the family.” In such a historical context, it is immoral for female to give priority to themselves, and even to their own thoughts is sinful. In the 1980s, the awareness of the public in Korea rose, and the self-awareness of female also quietly recovered. Feminism in the 1990s awakened the sleeping female consciousness. Female strive for freedom as a 'person' in a male-centered society, requiring society to listen to female's voices, recognizing female's thinking and abilities, and enabling female to express their opinions in an upright manner. Men and female as 'people' enjoy the future of development equally, which is the female consciousness inspired by female literature in the 1990s. This mature female consciousness is conveyed to the readers thanks to the superb level of consciousness and true writing of female writers. Today, female have gained social recognition in various fields such as politics, society and education.

The era in which Yi Kwangsuo lived was during the period of Japanese colonial rule. The cruel social reality prompted Yi Kwangsu, who was always concerned about the rise and fall of the country and tried to explore the road to saving the country. He accepted the Tolstoy as a realistic critic. The most important influence he received from Tolstoy was the critical spirit and humanitarian sentiment. The critical realism accepted by Yi Kwangsu is mainly reflected in the crusade against the feudal system. In his literary creation, he severely criticized the feudal ethics, the insurmountable parental power of the feudal society, and the social phenomena such as the stereotypes of feudal society. He called for Young people should not become victims of feudal society and advocate the spirit of individual liberation and self-reliance.

'Heartless' is not only the famous work of Yi Kwangsu, but also the first epoch-making novel in the history of modern Korean literature. The perfect combination of the ideal of nationalism and the enthusiasm of enlightenment has gained a very high popularity once it was published. Through the shackles of modern civilization and the celebration of new educational thoughts and free love, the novel describes the Korean social scene in the early 20th century. Pak Yong-ch'ae is a typical figure in Yi Kwangsu's works that was deeply persecuted by feudal traditions. Influenced by the feudal tradition of ethics, feudal traditions such as patriarchal system, female's morality, and virginity are deeply rooted in their consciousness. Therefore, when the father arranged her marriage with Yi Hyông-sik, she naturally chose to follow the father's arrangements. At that time, there was no love in her heart, and she completely followed the absurd theory of 'the life of the parents, the words of the matchmaker.' Pak Yong-ch'ae is the only female character in the full text who has experienced the transformation of values and ideas. The image of Pak Yong-ch'ae finally realized the transformation from the ignorant traditional female to the modern female with new ideas and new ideas, from the feudal thinking to the spiritual level of self-awareness. Kim Sôn-hyông accepted Western education and pre-visited abroad. However, her thoughts were not fully developed. She did not show obvious resistance when her father arranged for Yi Hyông-sik to teach her and intentionally matched her with Yi Hyông-sik. Until the wedding was held later, she was still not sure whether she really loved her, and it was not clear how she felt about Yi Hyông-sik. This kind of cloak with free love is actually a core marriage that follows the life of the parents, or does not escape the shackles of feudal thought. In this article, there is also a class of female. She is the opposite of Pak Yong-ch'ae. They have independent personality, have their own ideas, have their own ideas, and they pursue the same status as men. They have knowledge, culture, and opinion. It was one of the few female in the society who were awakened by the spirit. Undoubtedly, Kim Pyong’uk, written by Yi Kwangsu, is such a typical representative. Although both Kim Pyong’uk and Pak Yong-ch'ae lived under the decaying feudal ethics, she began to feel awakened after receiving new education and possessed the ability to think independently. Among Yi Kwangsu's works, Kim Pyong’uk is a pioneering female image against the feudal decadent family system and patriarchal and husband's rights system. She accepts the baptism of Western advanced thoughts and constantly seeks the meaning of female as human beings and as social individuals under the feudal system. Value, emphasizing female as socially independent individuals, should not be the vassals and accessories of others, emphasizing female's own spiritual awakening. In the society at the time, although most of the female, such as Pak Yong-ch'ae, accepted the old-style education and had traditional ideas, they would one day be reborn under the oppression of feudal ethics and realized under the influence of new knowledge and new ideas. However, one day, under the oppression of the feudal ethics, it will be reborn and become a transformation from a traditional woman who is ignorant and ignorant to a modern woman who is under the influence of new knowledge and new ideas.

The work 'Potato' depicts the process by which Pongnyo is formed by a simple character, gradually degenerating in morality and eventually forming a negative ethical outlook. The reason for the fall of Pongnyo can be analyzed from the social environment in which she lives, because as a woman, Pongnyo has neither the help of her family nor the extreme laziness of her husband, so that no one can rely on her. But survival is the most basic requirement of mankind. Even if they are poor, the blessed couples will survive. All the actions of the blessed female are also to meet this basic requirement. The original livelihood is the husband’s duty, but Pongnyo has to replace her husband to earn money to maintain her life. That is to say, there are two reasons for the prostitution of the Pongnyo: one is that there is no one to rely on, and the other is Pongnyo who is young and beautiful, which is the capital of money. Although this is not directly described in the article, it can be inferred from the introduction of Pongnyo in the work. Pongnyo married a bachelor in the same village at the age of 15, and was forced to live in the place when she was at the age of nineteen. After being sold to the supervisors, Pongnyo began to makeup and became more beautiful.

In South Korea, men have always had supreme status. With the introduction of Confucianism, the idea of men and female also entered Korea, so the status of female is declining. The Korean era was an agricultural intensive society. Confucianism became the mainstream thought in the Joseon era. Therefore, it also formed the climax of gender differentiation. ‘chastity’ and ‘follow’ are the most fundamental criteria for judging female’s morality. Because female obey their husbands at any time, so they cannot handle things according to their own independent consciousness and judgment. When I was young, I obeyed my parents, followed my husband after marriage, and kept my children after my husband died. This is a true portrayal of the status of female. The image created by female in Korean modern literary works has a tragic fate. Of course, this has a certain relationship with the social environment in the works, but on the other hand, because the social environment of the writers also determines that female in their writings cannot live a happy life. 'Fu Fu' is dependent on prostitution to maintain her livelihood because of the bad moral and ethical environment. Violation of ethics is not allowed for orthodox thinking. In the social situation at the time, if these female wanted to maintain their lives or pursue a happy life without relying on their own husbands, it would be difficult to achieve them, so their tragedy is inevitable.

Korean female writers shoulder the dual tasks of female and writers. They use the characteristics of female's literature as weapons and create a thorny copper camel in the diversified civilization pattern, which affects the weight of the world's new literature. A book transforms a country. The situation of the Korean feminist title is only a microcosm of the country covered by East Asian civilization. The experience that South Korea has experienced has shaken the Japanese society and can be our coming day.

There are extreme “female rights” in Asia that are stubborn and violent, and there are also female who are numb to gender violence and even become their minions. It is worth mentioning that we are in a more relaxed era, female have the right to self-selection, but the timing does not mean the same, the road to completion of men and female is still very long. Unconsciously, Korean female writers have become a peculiar landscape in the literature of the world with female's sensitivity and patience with reality. It is a pity that on the one hand, Korean ancient literature started late, and the other is easy. Although the literature has no boundaries, words have boundaries, translation disciplines are late, Korean literature is introduced in China, and Korean writers are not as common as Japanese writers. Good at self-referral. Therefore, we rarely have time to browse many excellent Korean female's literature in simplified form. But we believe that we will see more and more of them in the international literature arena and read their works.