I like to drop by the shiny, spacious Korean Cultural Centre when I'm in the area and have a bit of time. An exhibition of artists with multicultural backgrounds greeted me today, presenting everything from a vivid portrait of Leonora Carrington (an artist who has an experimental approach to representing women) to landscapes full of vibrancy and movement, to urban streets with poetic renderings, to abstract art.
If I had noticed the library in the centre before, it had escaped my memory, but here was an aesthetically decorated room of neutral tones and comfortable chairs, housing books of Korean interest. Some of them were in Hangul and there some were, invitingly, in English, for those of us who are not native or foreign speakers. I found a tome of essays on Modern Art and chose a chair.
Apparently during the period of modernism, South Korean culture underwent considerable changes, allowing women to enter educational institutions. This led feminists and progressives to question the role of adult women, now that there were more options for them than a lifetime of domesticity and childcare. One fashion designer, educated in Los Angeles and Paris, changed her name to Nora Noh, inspired by the protagonist of A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen. Her circumstances were such that she didn't want to be tied to the husband her family, peers and society guided her to at a young age. She wanted to explore her interiority and gain independence, not be treated like an 'item' by her in-laws, something only to 'give or take'. Nora Noh went on to introduce the miniskirt to South Korea by way of dressing a famous musician who imported it from the West. The designer maintained that clothes should 'not overpower the woman, but make her feel comfortable and allow her personality to shine'. Her 50+ years in the fashion industry speak to how successfully she actualised her personality and nurtured her talent.
I was interested to learn that the feminist-friendly 'New Woman' category of the modernist era had influences from Japanese colonialism, Confucianism, and the West. Those who wanted to restructure society to allow women more freedom and opportunity saw this as growing the competitiveness of South Korea. They felt hope that Koreans could do women's empowerment in their own way, simultaneously learning from Japanese culture and seeking to rebel against it.
This made for an interesting afternoon, musing on how the culture wars continue in the nation with the current impeachment of the anti-feminist president possibly bringing some fresh influences to Seoul. I am curious to see what will happen next on the Korean peninsula.
