Private girls' Schools in Modern Korea (1876-1945): Cho Dong-sik, women's education and changing conceptions of the 'Wise Mother, Good Wife'

Abstract

This article discusses women's education in Modern Korea (1876-1945) by focusing on Cho Dong-Sik (1887-1969), the founder of Tongwon Girls' School (Tongwonuisuk) in 1908. When this school merged with Tongdok Girls' School (Tongdokyohakgyo, in the following year, he took over the latter's management and devoted himself to women's education until his death. Cho Dong-Sik devoted his life to women's education with a firm belief in education and striving to do what he believed to be the best of his capacity. His concept of women's education reflected the concept of innate gender equality rather than the gendered hierarchal view of Confucianism in the traditional era. His early ideas on women's education reflected a Confucian notion of 'Wise Mother, Good Wife', but they gradually evolved into a more nationalistic version of the idea.