In South Korea, Confucian traditions are strong, thanks to which the ideology of male superiority permeates the entire system of social relations. Until now, women's participation in politics and big business remains very modest compared to the developed countries of the West, and they still face manifestations of "male chauvinism" [for more details, see: Lankov, 2000, pp. 219-220]. It is not surprising, therefore, that attention to gender relations and the status of women in Korean society is increasing every year. The first attempts to emancipate Korean women were made in the second half of the 19th century by Christian missionaries who promoted the idea of human equality and gave a great role to women's education [Kim Yangchang, 1997, pp. 197-198]. The ideas of equality of people were also laid down in the Tonhak doctrine, which later became "one of the leading forces in the struggle for Korean independence... "[see: Kurbanov, 2002, pp. 321-323]. Under the influence of an external threat to state sovereignty, the Independence Society () was created - In addition to demanding democratic freedoms, members of this society promoted knowledge as a path to progressive development of the Motherland [see: Tyagai and Pak, 1996, pp. 11-12], and also paid great attention to the status of women and advocated the creation of a network of women's schools. But "at that time, the demand for equality in education did not have the character of a struggle for equality between women and men" [Kim Yangchang, 1997, p.297]. In the wake of the enlightenment movement, women's activities became more active, as evidenced by the fact that in the early 1900s there were already women's organizations in Korea that had their own printed publications. The goal of some organizations was educational activities, while others were charitable [for more information, see Kim Yangchang, 1997, pp. 251-258]. In the 1920s and 1930s, Western ideas of "gender equality" penetrated Korea, but they could not sp ... Read more