Recording with original English audio. Recorded on June 12, 2023
Recording with simultaneous Chinese translation. Recorded on June 12, 2023.
CEDAW and the Korean Women’s Movement
Speaker: OH Kyung-jin, executive director of Korea Women’s Associations United
Background readings
Download the slides
Summary of the webinar:
Kyung-jin Oh, executive director of the largest women’s organization in South Korea, Korea Women’s Associations United, presents a panoramic picture of the South Korean women’s movement from the 1990s to the present. She begins with the role played by the women’s movement in South Korea’s transition from military dictatorship to democracy, its achievements (including the establishment of a gender ministry and affirmative action for women in politics), and the backlash it has experienced under the government of President Yoon Suk-yeol since May 2022. She notes that the current administration frame equality for women and protection for women’s rights as discriminating against men, a view that has attracted support from many male voters. Ms. Oh notes that the Yoon government has also limited the space for all civil society organizations, not only women’s groups. In response, South Korean women’s rights organizations have formed a network of over 900 organizations to push back. Actions include visiting parliamentarian offices and holding nation-wide rallies and online petition campaigns. This broad coalition has so far blocked the abolition of the gender ministry. Finally, Ms. Oh shares her reflections and lessons learned from the South Korean women’s movement, including the importance of women’s political participation and the role of international solidarity. During the Q&A, she addresses strategies to win support from men and intergenerational differences on gender equality.
Webinar highlights:
4:50 The introduction of Korea Women’s Associations United (KWAU)
6:45 History of the South Korean women’s movement
18:27 Women’s strategies to abolish the household registration system
22:37 Women’s strategies for the adoption of the gender quota system
25:05 The strategies of women’s groups for the creation of the gender ministry
27:28 Rapid increase in the political participation of women
30:28 Major changes to laws and policies advancing gender equality
31:13 Current dynamics of women’s agenda and movement: development and backlashes
39:54 The Yoon government and its goal of abolishing the gender ministry
43:48 The strategies of the women’s movement to keep the gender ministry
48:26 The Yoon government’s anti-feminist policy visions and anti-civil society/human rights policy visions
55:24 The current gender equality situation in Korea
57:14 Lessons learned from Korean women’s movement
1:00:56 Gender equality in East Asia and the feminist movement
1:06:00 Q&A: how to bring men and other groups together to advance women’s rights
1:11:35 Q&A: awareness raising and the awareness gap between men and women
1:16:10 Q&A: generational differences towards feminism and how will it affects future elections
1:20:34 Q&A: international engagement
About the speaker:
OH Kyung-jin
OH Kyung-jin is the executive director of Korea Women’s Associations United (KWAU), an umbrella organization of seven chapters and 28 member organizations that strive to achieve gender equality, democracy, and peaceful reunification in the Korean Peninsula through collective action. KWAU focuses on monitoring government policies and promoting gender-mainstreaming strategies at the national/local level with a view to improving legal and institutional systems from a gender equality perspective. Her interests include women’s human rights and inter-generational and transnational feminist networks. Before joining women’s NGOs, she was actively engaged in a number of international development NGOs on a project basis. She served as an executive manager of Korea Women’s Political Solidarity, a member organization of KWAU, from 2014 to 2015 and joined KWAU in 2016.