The Study Of The Women Emancipation Thoughts Of Korean Enlightenists

Under the restriction of the Confucian norms such as the three obediences and the four virtues (三从四德) in the feudal society, Korean women had no independent personality and were only the men' s accessory. They remained obscure and endured humiliation. With the emergence of the new thoughts such as shixue(实学) and dongxue(东学 ) and the introduction of the west modern civilization, the cry of criticizing the Korean traditional institutions which depressed and restricted the women ran high, and meanwhile the thoughts of women self-expression and the equality of men and women began to take form. But unhappily, these thoughts didn' t pose specific and systematic policies in changing the women' s adverse conditions and making the Korean women get the equal treatment with men.Overcoming the above mentioned drawbacks , Enlightenists, such as Piao Yongxiao (朴泳孝 ) , Yu Jijun( 俞吉浚 ) and Xu Zaibi ( 徐载弼 ) formed preliminary enlightening thoughts mainly through contacting modern capitalistic systems and advanced thoughts abroad. On the basis of the theory of Natural Rights, enlightenists gradually formed and developed modern National Ideology, and realizing the necessity and urgency of educating and mobilizing the Korean women in the course of strengthening the nation1 s quality ,and then making the country rich and building up the military power. They advocated marriage system reform ,such as widow' s remarry and early marriage' s abolishment, raised several views on the equality of men and women. Such thoughts and proposals awakened the Korean women' s self-expression and shocked the female world of the times, and finally make the Korean women public break away from the feudal imprison and confinement, and then enter into the society to carry out various social movements side by side with men...