The seven-volume “Anthology of Korean Literature by Women Writers” is the first encyclopedic publication chronicling the century-spanning lineage of modern and contemporary women’s writing in Korea. Courtesy of Minumsa Publishing Group
By Park Han-sol
“Anthology of Korean Literature by Women Writers,” the first encyclopedic publication chronicling the century-spanning lineage of modern and contemporary women’s writing in the country, has hit the shelves this week.
Compiled by the Research Group of Korean Women’s Literary History with a goal to reconstruct the historical canon of women’s writing from a female perspective, the seven-volume collection brings to light the fragmented literary achievements of female writers — from Korea’s first known feminist author Rha Hye-seok (1896-1948) to the International Booker Prize-winning Han Kang.
“Within the established male-centric literary history in Korea, the existence of women writers and their work has long been entirely neglected, marginalized or treated as secondary in value,” said Kim Yang-sun, professor of writing at Hallym University and a member of the research group, at a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday.
“For instance, it wasn’t until the late 1990s, when a wave of feminist criticism began to emerge in the country, that visionary authors from the ‘20s like Rha and Kim Myeong-sun came into the limelight.”
The anthologies of women’s literature that did manage to get published against this backdrop were largely limited to specific time periods, such as the Japanese colonial era (1910-45) or the postwar ’60s, and with an exclusive focus on narrative genres.
“We believed it was necessary to properly trace and archive the overlooked history of women’s literature spanning diverse eras and genres that have escaped dominant modern literary discourse,” she added, likening the project to the Korean counterpart of “The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women.”
The result is an extensive collection encompassing not only novels, prose, poems and play scripts, but also declarations, letters, diary entries and work memoirs from the late 19th century to the 1990s.
Six literary academics responsible for compiling “Anthology of Korean Literature by Women Writers” pose for a group photo prior to a press conference held to mark the book launch in central Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Minumsa Publishing Group
“Anthology of Korean Literature by Women Writers” identifies a contribution submitted by two anonymous readers to a local newspaper in 1898 as the beginning of women’s writing in the modern era.
This manifesto argued for a woman’s right to education and equal work opportunities with men, and proposed the establishment of a school to contribute to the nation’s patriotic enlightenment movement, which emerged several years prior to Japanese colonial rule. The following year, the two became among the founders of Korea’s first civilian-established girls’ school in Seoul.
“The piece marked the first known case of women emerging as subjects of writing, articulating with their own voices on a publicly available platform,” Kim noted.
Many subsequent works in the anthology address, both subtly and explicitly, the underrepresented gendered realities of women while creating a dialogue with the tumultuous historical turning points of 20th-century Korea — colonization, war, ideological conflict, military dictatorship, industrial economic growth and democratization.
The featured writers include Baek Shin-ae, Park Kyung-ni, Park Wan-seo, Yang Gui-ja and Kim Hye-soon.
“Anthology of Korean Literature by Women Writers” is the first undertaking compiled by the Research Group of Korean Women’s Literary History and guest editor Lee Kyung-soo. Formed in 2012, the group consists of five veteran literary academics: Kim Yang-sun, Kim Eun-ha, Lee Sun-ok, Lee Myung-ho and Lee Hee-won.
