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| Rising Up against Sexual Assault in the Military |
With the women's
military academy scheduled to close down in 2002, worries have again risen
over how women soldiers can stand up against human rights violations such as
sexual assault when they will soon be scattered in various different
institutes of training with no significant ties to bind them. Against this
backdrop, the women soldiers' actions have gained more significance than ever:
they will not only put the brakes on the gender discrimination and sexual
violence rampant in Korea's armed forces but also determine the status and
future of women soldiers who began serving the country some fifty years ago. What prodded the
women soldiers into action was anger at the helplessness of the victim, who
could do nothing to protest even when she had sexually assaulted. In a
statement disclosing their position on the case, the servicewomen accused the
army of turning a blind eye to the commander's act and failing to protect the
victim in spite of the existence of intelligence and supervisory agencies to
do the job. The Ministry of
National Defense has set up a 'Committee for the Prevention of Sexual
Corruption of Military Discipline' and put it to work. As for the ROK
After
the sexual harassment case involving a division commander and a woman
commissioned officer, women soldiers have joined hands with women groups to
demand the restoration of the victim's honor and the punishment of the
perpetrator. They are also calling for the eradication of sexual violence and
gender discrimination in the armed forces.
However, some are concerned that making and distributing guidelines amount to nothing more than stopgap measures. Especially discouraging is the fact that the guidelines lack any perspective on 'human rights' and 'equality.'
Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center is currently running a website on sexual violence in the armed forces. The center is planning to form a joint committee with women groups such as Womenlink and Women's Hotline. The committee intends to deliver a "must-do list" to the military: transfer the victim to the reserve list, discharge the assaulter, conduct a survey on the status of sexual harassment in the military, and come up with preventive measures.
Regarding the outcry from women
soldiers and Internet users who thought that a three-month suspension of
duties was too light a punishment, the army claimed that disciplinary
stipulations do not allow anything heavier than three months of suspension for
behavior such as commander Kim's.
reported by Yeuwool Cho
| Mail Order Brides |
Brides for sale, human rights not included
In recent years,
an increasing number of women are coming to Korea from foreign lands
such as the Philippines, Russia, and China to wed Korean men.
Importing brides became a common solution for men living in rural
communities who had problems finding spouses at home. But this
system of mail-order brides can hardly be called international or
match-made marriages. Recent developments have led to the shocking
discovery that this system can be a new form of human trafficking.
The system of mail-order brides, which first appeared in the 70s in the United States and Europe, has now established a niche in Korea in the form of online "matchmaking" agencies. The brokers running these websites provide detailed personal information on marriageable foreign women that include their age, height, weight, schooling, career and so on. And when the Korean client picks his bride, the broker charges brokerage fees and a commission for mediating the first meeting in the bride's country and drawing up the necessary nuptial agreements.
Kim Eunju, secretary of the Korea Church Women United, comments that unlike ordinary marriages, mail-order brides come from less developed countries that are poorer than Korea, and the process involves paid brokers. Kim condemns the practice as an express form of human trafficking.
It is no secret that the mail-order brides come willingly to Korea mainly for economic reasons. In the case of Russia or Philippines, it is difficult for these women to get jobs even with impressive academic achievements. Also, the national income gap between their country and Korea ensures big money in a short time if they come to Korea. But the problem is that the Korean men who ordered them are mostly farmers, widowers or divorcees, old bachelors, disabled persons, or job shifters. In other words, men considered poor candidates for marriage. That is why in most cases, the mail-order brides who tie the knot in Korea find life a far cry from the life they had dreamed of.
Hong Kihye (masters degree in Women's Studies, Ehwa Women's University), who studies marriages between Korean men and ethnic Korean women from China, says, "even if a woman freely chooses to get married, it is wrong to put all blame on her for being victimized by the marriage." She stresses that human rights of immigrants can be violated not only in the workplace but also in the realm of marriage and gender differences.
Byun Hwasoon, senior researcher at the Korean Women's Development Institute, says that it has become the international trend to deal with human trafficking or prostitution by punishing the intermediaries who exploit the situation for profit. She explains that the same method should be applied to the practice of mail-order brides. But since there are no ground rules in Korea's legal system for rooting out this practice, the most urgent task is to legislate appropriate laws. Byun's proposes that the existing laws preventing prostitution should be completely revised to include clauses preventing the exploitation of mail-order brides.
However, the "ring" of brokers organizes itself through the Internet, and uses as channels nonprofit organizations that can hardly be called intermediaries of exploitation. So in reality, it is difficult to crack down on these brokers.
The
first step towards eradication of the mail-order bride system,
therefore, is to raise public awareness, get people to regard the
practice as actual human trafficking. Another step would be to get
the authorities to study the situation in order to regulate the sex
industry that is closely related to the practice.
reported by Junghee Kim
| Coming Soon: Women Film Directors' New Works |
This year, women
directors are poised to take the movie industry by storm. Recently, director
Hong Jiah's
◀ Director
Park Namok, the first-ever woman film director on Korea. Stories of Park
rushing around the film set carrying her baby have become a legend in the
Korean film industry. Park's film 'The Widow' (1955) was considered
revolutionary in her day because it dealt with various relationships centering
on a woman including the love affair of a married woman.
And at home, several women directors, including Chang Heesun of 'Making Sun-dried Red Peppers,' are getting ready to meet movie goers. This is quite an achievement, considering the fact that only about 8 women directors made a name for themselves in the 80-year history of the Korean film industry.
Director Im Soonrye, who debuted in 1996 with 'Three Friends,' is making a film about a band leader who clings to the musical passion he had in high school even as he performs in small town night clubs. Im says that in 'Three Friends,' she failed to take into account the characteristics of film and the film's effects on viewers. This time round, she intends to depict life's loneliness in a more considerate and light-hearted manner.
Park Kyonghee, who worked with Im on 'Three Friends' as assistant director, is making her own film entitled 'Smile' starring Kim Yoonjin. 'Smile' is about a photographer with Tubuler's vision, a disease that narrows the vision and ultimately leads to blindness. Park intends to divide the film into four parts: 'Tubuler's vision,' 'Family,' 'Smile,' and 'Flight.' Park, who graduated from the Film Academy and trained under Park Kwangsu and Im Soonrye, is expected to introduce a new narrative style through her upcoming film.
Chung Jae-eun, the first film department graduate of Korea National University of Arts, has cranked in for 'The Catsitter.' She has already gained recognition for her constructing and directing skills through her short film 'Diary of Diagrams.' Her new film 'The Catsitter' is about twenty-year-olds poised to take on the world even as they walk the tightrope between childhood and adulthood, girlhood and womanhood.
Byun Youngju, director of films such as 'The Murmuring' and 'My Own Breathing' documenting the lives and heartaches of comfort women, is set to take on a new feature film by year-end. At the moment, she is working on the scenario, which is said to be about the happenings involving a twosome who kidnaps a child. And Chang Heesun, who pioneered an alternative way of film-making through 'Making Sun-dried Red Peppers,' has won critical acclaim for her realistic but light-hearted depiction of the relationship between three generations of women.
Several women directors are currently engaged in the scenario-writing stage, and their works will be released mostly in the later half of the year. One of them is Lee Junghyang, who proved Korean women directors' potential with 'Zoo by the Art Gallery' by making it both a box office hit and an artistic movie. Lee is currently in Japan, engrossed in working on a scenario for her next film.
Another director putting the finishing touches to a scenario is Lee Miyun. Lee worked as a producer with Lee Changdong on 'Green Fish' and withJiwoon on 'Quiet Family' and 'Foul King.' She revealed in an interview that she wants her new film, entitled 'Bus Stop,' to be a watchable and simple piece that is free of mannerisms. Lee is out to charm the audience armed with just camera and film.
reported by Eunju Ji
| Support Women Soccer! |
Women Soccer Association Kicks Off Next Month
With the rising
interest in women soccer, more and more work has to be done to organize and
manage the increasing number of international matches and women soccer teams.
The Korea Women Soccer Association (KWSA) that will take charge of this is
scheduled to be launched in March.
Women soccer in Korea dates back to 1949 when the first official match opened in Dongdaemun. But since then, lack of interest and participation has left women soccer going practically nowhere. Unlike other ball games where men and women teams start off and develop on a relatively equal footing, soccer has long been an almost exclusively male sports in Korea. Then in the 90s, after the Beijing Asian Games officially adopted women soccer as one of the games, Korea organized a national women soccer team for the first time, signaling a second beginning for women soccer in Korea.
The effects of the successful US Women's Worldcup spread not only in the US but also throughout the rest of the world. Market potential, rapid growth, easier competition compared to men's soccer, and the fact Korean women are traditionally better at ball games than their male counterparts, all added up to create optimistic prospects for women soccer. This in turn led to the Korea Football Association's long-term master plan for women soccer.
Recent developments have also raised the possibility that women soccer can be taken up as a leisure sport. Housewives' soccer teams have sprung up in several districts and YMCA branches. And a portal site for Internet users interested in women soccer (www.womensoccer.co.kr) has opened to provide information and enlist members.
Currently, Korean women soccer ranks fourth in Asia after China, Japan and North Korea. However, if Korean players fail to prove their worth in international games such as the 2003 China Women's Worldcup, the support and interest they have won may dwindle.
The time has come for the first generation of women soccer players who started out in the 90s to back the sports as leaders and administrators. An urgent task is to create more professional teams (currently standing at three nationwide) in order to accommodate the graduates from the 18 high school teams and 8 college teams in existence today.
Women soccer has definitely come a long way in the last decade, and more and more women students are interested in the game. But it is still not easy for them to come into contact with the sport and learn to play. The success of the US, the world's women soccer powerhouse, makes it clear that concentrating all the available resources on grooming a small elite team is far from the best way. Instead of setting its sights on short-term goals and expecting quick results, the KWSA is well-advised to cultivate the ground for women soccer to take root in Korean society. That should be the first and foremost challenge of the soon-to-be-launched KWSA.
reported by Minhee Ryu, guest reporter
Articles condensed by Jaejin Lee , translated by Eungjoo Cho
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