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| Student activists walk in Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, holding the portraits of 293 female independence fighters to raise public awareness of these forgotten heroes in this Aug. 14, 2017, file photo. / Korea Times file |
By Jin Yu-young
Most independence fighters Koreans remember today are men. However, there were many women who were forgotten.
As Wednesday marks the 73rd anniversary of Korea's Liberation Day, some students and activists have launched a campaign to honor these forgotten heroes.
Students from Seoul Women's University launched a social funding project for an advertisement highlighting the contributions women made to the independence movement.
They initiated the project after realizing there was a lack of recognition of women activists. The group's official introductory statement on the social funding site "Tumblug" reads: "If you are asked to name a woman who took part in the movement, Ryu Gwan-sun is the only one who comes to mind … the number of women mentioned in Korean history textbooks is very low."
It was with this concern that they began the campaign to increase awareness and honor the women.
Their fundraising was effective. Hundreds of people have donated 7.3 million won ($6,500), almost 15 times the campaign's original goal of 500,000 won.
The campaign organizers chose Gangnam Subway Station as the advertisement's location for two reasons. First, it provides ample public exposure. Second, it is a location with an overabundance of plastic surgery/beauty-related advertisements, another perceived women's issue in today's society. By placing the advertisement in Gangnam, women would be represented as history makers.
Woori Ilssang, a content company that specializes in history, took part by creating badges in honor of Kwon Ki-ok, Jung Jung-hwa, Nam Ja-hyun and Ji Bok-young, four women independence activists.
"Women during the Japanese occupation are merely thought of as wives who supported their husbands, who actively participated in the movement," a company official said. "However, women and men were not segregated in their roles and we must keep in mind that there were many women in addition to Ryu Gwan-sun who were activists."
Unlike male activists, many female independence fighters were forgotten for several reasons.
"There's no accurate data about how many women were involved in Korea's independence movement," said Ban Byung-yool, a professor of Korean history at the Korea University of Foreign Studies.
"I believe there were many more female independence fighters than we know today. Because of their duties at home, many of them played a supporting role. But there were some who took the initiative. One of them is Alexandra Petrovna Kim, who was based in the Russian Far East, and tried hard to team up with female independence fighters in Korea."
Unfortunately, Ban said many female activists who fought for Korea's independence were forgotten partly because Korea has long been male dominated and the role of women was not appreciated.
"There were few studies shedding light on female independence fighters, also because of a lack of female historians," he said.
Female independence fighters have gained attention in recent years as Koreans took an interest in minorities and their role in history.
Jin Yu-young is a Korea Times intern.
