Shinyeoseong (New Woman) Magazine

"The emergence of a community of female intellectuals, the so-called 'shinyeoseong(new woman),'in 1920s and 30s Korea had much to do with increased education opportunities for women and the growth of modern journalism. In various areas of society, the shinyeoseong was considered a driver of new values and attitudes, which itself was a view widely spread by the media. The magazine Shinyeoseong played an important role in the formation of feminist discourse in the 1920s and 1930s. The magazine was a force that ushered in a new era with its production of feminist discourse that made the education of women its main agenda. At the very forefront of this movement stood the women journalists. The responsibility to educate and enlighten their fellow women was strongly felt by female journalists who strove to build a feminist discourse that worked to improve the status of women. Another core idea of this discourse was that a woman’s true independence arrives with financial independence. These women journalists understood their work as the key driving force within the women’s liberation movement that fought for women’s welfare, and had the potential to rewrite history through the theory and practice of improving women’s rights. Among these journalists were Heo Jeong-sook and Song Gye-wol who wrote editorial comments on their experiences as women journalists for the Shinyeoseong. The feminist discourse of both Heo Jeong-Sook and Song Gye-wol began with the notion that 'women are human too.' They also argued that by preventing women from becoming dependent on their husbands or other men, women’s economic participation was crucial to the cause of female independence. Heo Jeong-sook highlighted the importance of job for women noting that 'a job for a women in today’s Joseon is a key tool with which women can enrich their individual economies, so that they have the legal means to break free from the tyranny of men and live on equal footing.' She did not stop at making the necessary argument that women should simply have jobs. She also outlined the very real and institutional problems that women faced when trying to look for a job. The feminist discourse most emphasized by female intellectuals focused on the importance of women as human, and ways to help women realize this. One of the various ideas that were suggested to complement this movement is the discourse that stressed the importance of women’s economic independence. In short, women have equal freedom and rights and therefore, they can demand the right to make free choices in marriage, the right to education, and the right to work. However, it is unfortunately true that these shinyeoseong discourses that argued for women’s liberation and raising self-awareness failed to permeate through social institutions."—https://academic.naver.com/article.naver?doc_id=288590626