Blatant Double Standard

[ashiva.livejournal.com]

An opinion piece from The Korea Times:

The Supreme Court's recent decision to compensate Shinhan Engineering and Construction at the expense of the estate of the late actress Choi Jin-sil reveals a troubling inequality at the core of Korean society. In handing down its ruling, the country's top court censured Choi for coming forward and declaring herself a victim of domestic violence, saying it constituted a failure to maintain proper "social and moral honor."

Even a casual observer of current events would not have failed to notice the contrast between this position and the posthumous treatment of former President Roh Moo-hyun. While Choi's reputation lies in tatters following Shinhan's successful litigation, the late former President is being hailed as a martyr, a bastion of decency who crumbled under the pressure of a dictatorial regime.

All differences aside (and there are many), there remains a striking parallel that will bind the pair in the public's memory for years to come: Choi and Roh, both high-profile public figures, resorted to suicide amid personal and legal storms.

In post-war Japan, suicide was viewed as a redemptive gesture ― a form of apology on behalf of one's self or others. There can be little doubt that such a view persists in contemporary Korea. Nor can it be argued that redemption was not the ultimate motive behind the late former President's desperate act. Strange though it may seem to outside observers, it was a foregone conclusion in the minds of most Koreans that Roh's death should ― by default ― absolve him of all transgressions. Such is the tremendous power and symbolism of taking one's own life.

Considering that the former President's suicide won him a reprieve from investigation and ― more than that ― cleansed from the collective memory the fact that he was deeply unpopular at the time he left office, one cannot help but wonder why the same grace has not been extended to Choi Jin-sil. Indeed, far from bringing to an end the ordeals she faced in life, her death appears to have compounded her woes. Unlike Roh's persecutors, who were quickly called off, Shinhan was permitted to drive forward in seeking recompense from a woman whose only crime was to be the victim of an abusive husband. Has the rehabilitative power of suicide worked its charm in the case of Choi Jin-sil? Certainly not.

Why have citizens been left to reconcile such a blatant double standard? The clear message of the Supreme Court's ruling is that victims of domestic violence have somehow brought it upon themselves, that women like Choi Jin-sil have stepped out of line and upset society's Confucian balance by displacing men from their natural roles as breadwinners and heads of household. For this they deserve legal punishment.

In rendering their decision, the country's top court has proven itself to be little more than a mouthpiece of Confucian ideology: devoid of compassion or common sense. Regrettably, aside from the protestations of a few women's groups, there is no sign of the public outcry that delivered Roh Moo-hyun. Although one may be inclined to wonder why, the answer is simple enough. The groups that have rushed to defend the late former President are more interested in scoring points against a beleaguered political opponent than grappling with injustice or inequality. Be it the government, the opposition, or the courts, the leading voices of the moment belong to those who seek to perpetuate the values of patriarchy.

It appears quite likely that the Roh family will retain their ill-gotten fortune. Meanwhile, in the case of Choi Jin-sil, the court has worked assiduously to deprive the actress's two young daughters of a substantial portion of their inheritance. Of far greater significance, however, is the message the decision sends to the thousands nationwide who suffer daily the effects of an epidemic of domestic violence.

The writer lives in Gwangju and teaches at Gwangju National University of Education (GNUE). He can be reached at eltonlaclare@hotmail.com.

Source

Comments

[lyto.livejournal.com]

...that is all kinds of fucked up.

[fehriku.livejournal.com]

mte. I can't even come up with a coherent response to this article :/

[frshsqz.livejournal.com]

her whole ordeal even after death makes me so sad. WTF korea..seriously.

[pandatablo.livejournal.com]

i have such a disturbing relationship with this country . i love the language and korean boys are probably the hottest on the planet[ yes i'm that shallow ], but sometimes the whole thing just makes me sigh deeply .
oh korea, i pity you ...:(

[lydzi.livejournal.com]

I agree so much with you I don't have anything to add.

[essyllus.livejournal.com]

i wonder if koreans know how we view their society...

[anti-tortoise.livejournal.com]

In what sense do you mean "we" and in what view? Because why would they care what we think of them?

[essyllus.livejournal.com]

By "we" I meant outsiders of Korean society who would view domestic violence as a fault of the abuser, not the victim. I was wondering if Korean people were able to see the double standard.

[anti-tortoise.livejournal.com]

Then Korea doesn't really care.

[essyllus.livejournal.com]

All right then.

[thereisdiscord.livejournal.com]

I don't think they care. There are so many more restrictive countries with societies far different from "ours." (I assume you live in a Western country.)

[essyllus.livejournal.com]

Well, my meaning was not so much that the Western view (or anyone outside of Korean society) is better, but more asking if Koreans were aware of the double standard.

[thereisdiscord.livejournal.com]

I'm sure they're aware, but to get it into that more deeply would probably depend on the individual, not on society as a whole. In the US for example, many people are aware there is double standard between men and women, and some aren't...But even if you are aware, that doesn't mean you see anything wrong with it or care.

[essyllus.livejournal.com]

I should have clarified, I meant aware and angry. :/ But yeah, that is true; even though injustice exists, most people don't do anything about it.

[anti-tortoise.livejournal.com]

It's so backwards, so stone age

There is no such thing as a 'backward' or 'stone age' society, all societies are moving forward and evolving, your society is either changing or it's dead, there can be no fall back. Anthropologically speaking, it's impossible. But cultures develop and change at different rates and in different ideologies. To then say this would mean that tribal people of Indonesia or the Amazon are nearly paleolithic if Korea is 'stone age'.

In a western ideology, this system of 'double standards' would be seen as backwards and unfair for women. But Korea is an eastern country with historical ties to Confucianism in which women are seen as subservient to men. But in countries where women are ranked lower then men actually in the end hold more power then men, while this isn't often seen because in a news media driven society we pay attention for what goes wrong and not what goes right.

[anti-tortoise.livejournal.com]

You don't mess with anthropology majors, they can pwn easily. :D

[anti-tortoise.livejournal.com]

To each their own then! As long as we each enjoy what we do :3

I know you meant figuratively, as in, they are backwards in thinking for believing in such cultural values, but I still stand that if they are backwards then more 'primative' (U use that word lightly because there really isn't a good word for tribal groups and I hope not to offend by using it.)

Well I suppose if we stay in pop culture, the rise of girl bands and the success of many of those girl bands would count yes? As I said before, new media groups focus on the negative, so I don't really have examples of awesome things that have happened to women in Korea, actually, to be honest, I haven't read the news in a while as I've been reading up on Chinese news, so I can't really give ones for Korea. But there's good there, women don't have it as sucky as we believe it to be.

[anti-tortoise.livejournal.com]

I do that too sometimes, I don't really pay attention to what I write, I do this when I speak also. I get a bit intense when reading cultural things because of my anthropology major background.

The Korean Herald is a good English Korean news site, I'm still looking for a good English one for China, but I haven't found it yet.

lmao, it's scary to sound like our teachers.

[anti-tortoise.livejournal.com]

Hhaha, that's why I had to perfect my cute faces, they work great now when I say something stupid or offensive, I give them this look that could rival with Sungmin's cute face.

It's a wonderful place! I find them less opinionated and more factual then places like CNN or MSNBC. Because it's Koreans writing about Korea.

Lmao, I sounded like my anthro prof a couple of comments ago on this thread, she made this huge rant one day in class about cultures moving forward and it was pretty neat.

[patapoufe.livejournal.com]

"But in countries where women are ranked lower then men actually in the end hold more power then men..."

Which countries? Just out of curiosity, because I can't seem to think of any off the top of my head.

[anti-tortoise.livejournal.com]

It's because it's not something that gets flaunted around because it's subtle control. They don't actually have political or social power over men, but through existing powers in society they do, such like religion.

The women in Morocco are second class as is in I guess most Islamic nations but through religion they are able to gain power over men. A woman could be able to go into a religious 'trance' and then tell her husband what she saw, so she could say 'We need this really expensive thing or you have to be kinder to me or this religious spirit will condemn you'. (Source? A Street in Maarakech by Elizabeth Fernea)

[patapoufe.livejournal.com]

I'm not an anthropology major, but I don't commonly see females holding power through religion. When you see the role of Islamic women in the Middle East, it's obvious that they have little foothold in society and little control in their own lives. Just in my church itself the vast majority of leaders are men, and one of the conditions to become an elder (the 'highest' position you could say) is that you must be male.

[anti-tortoise.livejournal.com]

No no, I didn't mean that they held positions like leaders or preists in the religious structure, but in Morocco, having trances is a highly religious power that women often use to their advantage. Not everyone has is great and sometimes they can't use things like trance to get a foothold. When you say church, you mean Christianity right?

[patapoufe.livejournal.com]

I know, but the example you used with Morocco. Is it actually common enough to have a societal impact? I just find what you said about countries where women are of lower rank eventually place them higher a little hard to believe. I'm a solid proof kind of girl. XD

Protestant church, yes. : )

[patapoufe.livejournal.com]

"The clear message of the Supreme Court's ruling is that victims of domestic violence have somehow brought it upon themselves, that women like Choi Jin-sil have stepped out of line and upset society's Confucian balance by displacing men from their natural roles as breadwinners and heads of household. For this they deserve legal punishment."

That's exactly what I thought when I first read about Choi Jin-sil.

[speakoslow.livejournal.com]

I'm interested, anyone know what the public opinion of people in Korea is??
I remember this situation being posted on ONTD and people were just outraged...many even wrote complaints to the company and contacted women activist groups to bring awareness to this nonsense..

And as sad as it may be Korea is not the only place where women are blamed for crap they can't control. Sexism and misogyny exists EVERYWHERE :(

[maisoui.livejournal.com]

Sexism and misogyny exists EVERYWHERE :(

THIS.

[carrotsandroses.livejournal.com]

...Oh Korea...when will you learn? :/

[fraash.livejournal.com]

|: ugghh.

[jia-zhang.livejournal.com]

...the country's top court censured Choi for coming forward and declaring herself a victim of domestic violence, saying it constituted a failure to maintain proper "social and moral honor."

This thing makes me so angry I can barely come up with coherent answer. I never understood what my Social Equality prof was talking about in saying Korea wasn't a "first world" nation, considering how industrialized it is, but now I suddenly seem to understand. =_=

[maisoui.livejournal.com]

@ the comments saying "KOREAN CULTURE idgi"

I know how you feel. I feel the same way about Japan in a lot of ways. But you have got to accept that some things are just different. Go ahead and disagree with the stuff that's wrong, speak out against injustice/misogyny/racism etc. That's fine. But don't discount an entire culture full of their traditions. As an American, I personally wish my culture was half as ancient and important as those found in Asia.

You have got to take the bad with the good. No place is perfect. Injustice happens everywhere every day.

But yeah, this whole ordeal is such a shame. :((((

[always-lovin-u.livejournal.com]

I agree, wholeheartedly. America isn't exactly pristine herself.

[lydzi.livejournal.com]

I just love the word "pristine". It's a shiny word ^^.

[graymary.livejournal.com]

this this this. :(

everyone has a long way to go.

[ashiya.livejournal.com]

Be it the government, the opposition, or the courts, the leading voices of the moment belong to those who seek to perpetuate the values of patriarchy.
This is basically the reason why Choi Jin-sil's ruling came out the way it did. All the people in power are old men who continue to perpetuate traditional Confucian values and are very resistant to change to the status quo.

Stuff like this will continue to happen as long as the Korean government remains the way it is.

[essyllus.livejournal.com]

That's good to hear.

[beautifiers.livejournal.com]

that's refreshing.

[-ochre.livejournal.com]

Good.

[theweathertoday.livejournal.com]

I'm really glad to hear that.

[graymary.livejournal.com]

great to hear, thank you for sharing. :)

[tyreling.livejournal.com]

NOW, that is good to hear.

[she-devil666.livejournal.com]

And such as the life of being a woman ): That really is sad. I bet if she were a man there would be no trouble >.> So basically they condone domestic abuse. Yeah, sometimes a woman does things that are so... crazy that makes you want to hit them but that still doesn't make it right. And to take legal action on a victim?! It's ludicrous.

[thereisdiscord.livejournal.com]

Though I like having these type of posts and appreciate them, they always erupt into some weird Everyone vs South Korea thing. On some level, it's good people are outraged when there is injustice, but different cultures are different. Even in the United States there is still A LOT of intolerance; women are discriminated against and so on.

[ficcy.livejournal.com]

I feel sorry for her daughters who have to go through this shit. :|