Writing Women in Korea: Translation and Feminism in the Early Twentieth Century

by Theresa Hyun

Writing Women in Korea explores the connections among translation, new forms of writing, and new representations of women in Korea from the early 1900s to the late 1930s. It examines shifts in the way translators handled material pertaining to women, the work of women translators of the time, and the relationship between translation and the original works of early twentieth-century Korean women writers.

The book opens with an outline of the Chosôn period (1392-1910), when a vernacular writing system was invented, making it possible to translate texts into Korean--in particular, Chinese writings reinforcing official ideals of feminine behavior aimed at women. The legends of European heroines and foreign literary works (such as those by Ibsen) translated at the beginning of the twentieth century helped spur the creation of the New Woman (Sin Yôsông) ideal for educated women of the 1920s and 1930s. The role of women translators is explored, as well as the scope of their work and the constraints they faced as translators. Finally, the author relates the writing of Kim Myông-Sun, Pak Hwa-Sông, and Mo Yun-Suk to new trends imported into Korea through translation. She argues that these women deserve recognition for not only their creation of new forms of writing, but also their contributions to Korea’s emerging sense of herself as a modern and independent nation.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[meeners · Rating 2 out of 5]

a disappointment. giving it 2 stars because i think it could work as a kind of sourcebook - she synthesizes a lot of rich material and points out some interesting trends and authors to consider. but her analyses are reductive and nationalistic, and there is very little attempt to bring forth any kind of sophisticated theory that ties her feminist angle, colonial angle, and translation angle together. a pity. she could have done so, so much more!

on a somewhat related note, i find it EXTREMELY frustrating when people throw around the term "vernacular" without really explaining what they mean by that. in this book, for example, she SEEMS to equate vernacular = hangul writing, as evidenced by her lumping of the korean version of kanbun kakikudashi in this category. but can you really do that?!?! what sorts of linguistic registers were being used in, for example, chosun "vernacular fiction" aimed for women's moral education vs. chosun popular "vernacular fiction" for general audiences vs. "vernacular fiction" serialized in newspapers starting in the early 20th century etc. etc. etc.??