WOMEN IN TWO NATIONS AND FOUR STATES : A Comparative Study of the Impact of Political Regimes and Culture on the Status of Women in the two Koreas and the two Germanics, 1945-89. Miryang Youn The London School of Economics and Political Science University of London 1997 UMI Number: U105492 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U105492 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 WOMEN IN TWO NATIONS AND FOUR STATES : A Comparative Study of the Impact of Political Regimes and Culture on the status of Women in the two Koreas and the two Germanies, 1945-89. by Miryang Youn Submitted for a Doctor of Philosophy Degree Faculty of Economics Department of Government The London School of Economics and Political Science University of London 1997 O) 0 0 t/1 u _ <fr POLITICAL $ AND V ^s£j«csC$ Abstract Communist regimes have claimed that communism is the vehicle for women's emancipation. They maintain that sexual inequality can only be abolished as part of the broader socialist transformation through pulling women into the paid labour force. If the communist claim is true, women in communist regimes should be equal regardless of their cultural tradition, while women's position in communist regimes should be higher than in capitalist regimes. However, women's experiences in communist regimes revealed that their position varies from country to country and region to region, revealing the influence of culture in a variety of guises. In this respect, the former two Germanies and the two Koreas provide a rare chance of a cross-regime and cross-cultural comparative study. Germany and Korea have maintained distinct cultures different from their neighbours. The traditions of the two nations ran into revolutionary changes and discontinuities in the wake of their division into communist and capitalist regimes. The communist regimes of Germany and Korea advocated women's emancipation through making women part of the working class. Their achievements and failures compared with their severed national halves constituted a laboratory situation for the test of the communist claim. In this thesis, the communist claim is tested through the comparison of women's positions in the four countries, in all aspects of social life: under the law, in the education system, at work, in the family and in politics. The novel contribution of the thesis is its cross-cultural and cross-regime analysis, measuring the impact of the state on women's emancipation, taking into account different cultural impediments. It contributes to the development of feminist analyses of the state and culture, adding empirical evidence to theoretic arguments. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am greatly indebted to Professor Brendan O'Leary and Dr. Diemut Bubeck not only for their intellectual contribution to the formulation and development of this study, but also for their enthusiasm and continuous support. They have been my supervisors, counsellors, and friends. Without their guidance and care, this thesis could not be completed. Many of my friends made my life in London much stable and bearable. Kyung-Sook Chang, Young-Sook Lee and Mikyung You were the best of all. We four shared the whole gamut of feelings from happiness and joy to despair and frustration. I dare say our friendship will be ever lasting. This study was funded for two years by the Korean Government Long-Term Fellowship for Overseas Studies. I have to thank the Korean government, my employer. This study was also funded by the Overseas Research Students (ORS) Awards in 1993. I express a deep gratitude to the CVCP. I would like to thank my sister, my brother-in-law and my niece. I have never seen anybody who has sweeter sister and brother-in- law than mine. They were the reservoir of my strength. Love you all. Finally, I would like to dedicate this study to my mother who has suffered a lot, but never given up hope. Whatever the ups and downs of her life, and whatever the rights and wrongs of me, she trusts and supports me all the time. This thesis should be hers. CONTENTS ABSTRACT OF THESIS i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ill CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES ......... X LIST OF FIGURES xii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Women, Paid Work, and Emancipation .... 1 1. 2 Feminist Analyses of Women's Emancipation .... 3 1.2.1 Liberal Feminism and Women's Rights .... 4 1.2.2 The Marxist Theory of Women's Emancipation ... 6 1.2.3 Socialist Feminism : Dual Systems Theory .... 7 1.2.4 Radical Feminism : Rejecting Patriarchy .... 10 1. 3 Purpose of the Study .... 14 1.3.1 Political Regimes and Culture .... 15 1.3.2 The Two Hypotheses of the Study .... 18 1. 4 Data and Methodology .... 19 1.4.1 Methods and Data for Sociological Surveys .. 19 1.4.2 A Comprehensive Comparison of the Four .... 22 Countries CHAPTER TWO CULTURE AND WOMEN IN GERMAN AND KOREAN HISTORY, 1871-1945 2. 1 Two Cultural Patterns: Christianity and Confucianism 2.1.1 An Overview of Christianity and Confucianism 2.1.2 Christian Womanhood: Original Sin of Eve ... 28 2.1.3 Confucian Womanhood: The Duty of Filial .... 30 Piety iv Kinder, Kueche and Kirche: Cultural 32 Impediments for German Women 2.2.1 German Unification 33 2.2.2 The Bourgeois Women's Movement 34 2.2.3 Women and Socialism 37 2.2.4 Struggles, War, and Disillusionment 40 2.2.5 Women under the Nazis 43 2.2.6 The Fluctuating Women's Movement 47 3 The Rule of the Three Obediences: Restrictions 50 on Korean Women 2.3.1 Women's Conf inement at Home 51 2.3.2 Mothers without Sexual Desire 53 2.3.3 Transmission of Christianity 56 2.3.4 Nationalist Support of Women's Rights 58 2.3.5 Women in the Communist Movement 61 2.3.6 A Condemned Group of Feminists 63 2.3.7 Women's Activism: All for Independence 65 2. 4 Summary 67 CHAPTER THREE WOMEN IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY 3. 1 Introduction 70 3.1.1 Politics and the Economy 71 3.1.2 Family Policies (Famillenpolitik) 72 3. 2 Women under the Law 74 3.2.1 Equal Rights Promise in the Basic Law 74 3.2.2 Family Law • • • • 75 3.2.3 Labour Law 79 3.2.4 The Penal Code: Crimes against Women 81 and Abortion 3. 3 Women in Education 84 3.3.1 Education System • • • • 84 3.3.2 Women in Higher Education • • • • 88 3. 4 Women at Work 90 3.4.1 Women in the Labour Force 91 3.4.2 Vocational Qualifications of Women • • • • 92 3.4.3 Women in Employment: Segregated Labour 95 Market 3.4.4 Women's Earnings .... 100 v 3. 5 The Family and Work 102 3.5.1 Combining the Family and Employment 103 3.5.2 Marriage and Divorce 106 3. 6 Women in Politics .... 107>7 3.6.1 The Women's Movement .... 10 3.6.2 Women in Political Parties .... 10 3.6.3 Women in Parliaments: Federal and Laende .... Ill Parliaments 3.6.4 Women in Governing Bodies .... 113 3. 7 Summary cfl .... 114 CHAPTER FOUR WOMEN IN THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 4. 1 Introduction 116 4.1.1 SED Dominated Politics and Economy 116 4.1.2 The Women Policies(Frauenpolitik) 118 4. 2 Women under the Law 119 4.2.1 Sexual Equality in the Constitution 120 4.2.2 The Family Law 121 4.2.3 The Labour Law 124 4.2.4 Abortion 127 4. 3 Women in the Education System 128 4.3.1 The Law on the Integrated Socialist 129 Education System 4.3.2 Women in Vocational Education 132 4.3.3 Women in Higher Education 134 4. 4 Women at Work 136 4.4.1 Women in the Labour Force 137 4.4.2 Women's Vocational Qualification 138 4.4.3 Women's Earnings 141 4.4.4 Women in Leadership Positions in the 144 Economy 4. 5 Women, Children, and the Family 145 4.5.1 Motherhood and Child-Care 145 4.5.2 Marriage and Divorce 147 4.5.3 Household Work 149 vi 4. 6 Women in Politics .... 151 4.6.1 Women in the People's Congress .... 152 (Volkskammer) 4.6.2 Women in Geverning Bodies .... 153 4.6.3 Women in the SED .... 154 4.6.4 The Democratic Women's Federation of .... 155 Germany 4. 7 Summary 3 .... 157 CHAPTER FIVE WOMEN IN THE REPUBLIC 07 KOREA 5. 1 Introduction 160 5.1.1 Authoritarian Government and Controlled 160 Economy 5.1.2 Marginalised Women's Issues 163 5. 2 The Status of Women under the Law 163 5.2.1 Constitutional Promises of Sexual 164 Equality 5.2.2 The Family Law 165 5.2.3 Labour Laws 170 5.2.4 The Penal Code 172 5. 3 Women in Education 175 5.3.1 The Education System 176 5.3.2 Sexual Segregation in the Education 177 System 5.3.3 Women in Higher Education 179 5. 4 Women in Employment 179 5.4.1 Women in the Labour Force 180 5.4.2 Women's Vocational Qualifications 182 5.4.3 Segregated Labour Market 185 5.4.4 Longer Working Hours, Smaller Earnings 191 5.