일제강점기의 조선 신여성 인식에 관한 일고찰‒여성잡지 『新女性』을 중심으로‒

Abstract

This paper explores the discourse on the so-called New Woman emerged in a woman’s magazine entitled “New Woman” with a view to investigating the associated themes that range from women’s consuming space to modern perception towards female body and to the emergence of women as a new major player in consumption and so forth. The New Woman is here defined as an educated, independent – hence capable and qualified – woman who attempts and endeavors to break long-held patriarchal, feudalistic social conventions/customs in society through her active participation in emancipatory movements for improvement of woman’s rights and social/class status within it. The “New Woman” magzine is overall found to have implicitly maintained its both positive and nagative perception/editorial stance towards the New Woman. Furthermore, those new women sought to actively involve themselves in pursuing their career activities not only for economic purpose, but also in the wake of their more fundamental, ultimate desire for self-realization and for taking part in social activities. As with such societal needs mentioned above, women’s magazines in general played an active part in asserting, and making in public, the issues on the need for the betterment of women’s social position and on the importance of women making it to their career paths. In this sense, in relation to the then emergence of those new women as such, major cities in colonial Korea including Kyungsung (Seoul) were deemed as a crucial space in the process of formation of the then culture of consumption in it, thus pivotal in enabling it to become more firmly established there in the long run. Through this process started the wider spread of Westernized clothing and hairstyle and new make-up techniques across colonial Korea, and it was eventually the new women as a trendsetter that played the very leading role in formation and establishment of the then comsumer culture.