Book Description
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. By examining 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 author attempts to answer such far-reaching questions as: How have women translators contributed to literary and cultural change? How do writing on women and women's writing relate to changes in national identity?
Each chapter considers phases and aspects of the process of creating feminine ideals through translation. The work opens with an outline of the Choson 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 Yosong) 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 Myong-Sun, Pak Hwa-Song, and Mo Yun-Suk to new trends imported into Korea through translation. The author 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.
In emphasizing the importance of women translators and writers in early twentieth-century Korea, this volume places Korean literary and cultural activities in the wider perspective of feminist and cross-cultural studies and contributes to an understanding of the central role of translation in creating new gender and national identities.
