The Issue of Gender Sensitivity and Youth Feminism in South Korea

Abstract

The concept of “gender sensitivity” serves as one of the political currencies for the emerging Korean MZ generation of women to censor a variety of words and activities of public figures from all walks of life. However, the imported term “gender sensitivity” has not yet been consolidated in the Korean socio-cultural practices, thereby causing adverse chain reactions among users. Given language is a social contract reflecting the history of the source language, this paper raises a necessity to examine how such concepts as “feminism,” “gender sensitivity,” and “woman-hatred” came to serve as key currencies among Gen. MZ’s women and/or feminists. While citing most of Adrienne Rich’s feminist perspective and poems, this paper also provides a Japanese feminist, Ueno Chizuko’s perspective, while giving a voice to Korean youth feminism. Further, it illuminates a senior liberal Korean feminist’s perspective, providing a historical continuum of smart, stong, and self-reliant women and the unique Korean language that provided some space for women’s autonomy. Finally, it suggests a future direction of Korean youth feminism, taking an example of Rich’s feminist vision of a doorframe, asking for the MZ generation of women to adapt it to the lived reality of ordinary women and envision an inclusive and constructive future for the entire generations rather than to exclude and shut down the rest.