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2019 | 32 | 61-80

Article title

Discourse on motherhood and childrearing: the role of women in North Korea

Authors

Selected contents from this journal

Title variants

Languages of publication

EN

Abstracts

EN
The implementation of socialism in North Korea required the large-scale involvement of women in economic relations. In order to align the rights of women and men in social life, the government pursued a policy of gender equality, conducting extensive advocacy among the female population aimed at a transformation of the understanding of women’s social roles and the nature of femininity. In the original context of women being encouraged to be workers and passionate contributors to the construction of the socialist state, the traditional stance on women as caring mothers and wives was supplemented with internationalist rhetoric on womanhood. However, with the transition to the Juche-oriented socialism, the discourse on women was modified, increasing the emphasis on motherhood and childrearing and reducing internationalism. Based on an analysis of the women’s magazine The Korean Woman (Joseon Nyeoseong), the present study analyses discourses on motherhood and childrearing in 21st century North Korea. The preliminary results of the research show that, while motherhood remains an essential component of the discourse on women, it is formulated in terms of building a powerful socialist state.

Keywords

Year

Issue

32

Pages

61-80

Physical description

Dates

published
2019-12-01J

Contributors

author
  • Research Fellow at the Institute of Oriental Studies of Russian Academy of Sciences.

References

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Document Type

Publication order reference

Identifiers

YADDA identifier

bwmeta1.element.desklight-b56e31fd-7cb4-4111-b45b-b682f71dd0b3
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