The Korean War and Women: those who stood on the margin

This is the study of the Korean War and women. More specifically, I pursue the cultural history of women during the War. What the ‘cultural history’ is meant here is to analyze women’s consciousness, their subjectivity and practices during the war period and to reveal the effects of war on women’s life in general and women’s responds in specific. The socio-political studies of the Korean War have accumulated to a great extent and yet not many studies about women at war have accomplished. From the 2000’s, a small volume of studies of women in the Korean War have been started by social scientists who focused on the issues concerning the change of women’s role and status when men were absent at home. The studies witness that many women became breadwinners working at factories, marketplaces, and many unskilled jobs. However, those studies did not much pay attention to the women’s consciousness and their perception of war. This study shows how the women interviewed experienced the war and perceived it. Those who faced the crisis of ideological battle, endangered family relationship and sexual violation spoke about their experiences with their own voices. The women witnessed another war within the members of family, close kin, and neighbors not alone between the enemies at war. Most women at war tried to be liberated themselves from the ideological battle between the right and the left. They placed themselves to be watchers of family during the war. The data I have used in this paper were collected in the area of Imsil, Jeolla Bukto.