Korean Perceptions of Chastity

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Korean Perceptions of chastity, gender roles, and libido; from Kisaengs to the Twenty First century

By Katrina Maynes

        The kingdom of Silla granted women considerable rights. Their education and intelligence enabled them to be important members of court, and some gained positions of political power. During the Koryo dynasty, the growing influence of Confucianism ultimately caused the status of women to increasingly decline. Single women were generally looked down upon. The Silla and Koryo treatment of women should not be mistaken to signify that females enjoyed complete freedom; women continued to be under the jurisdiction of men and subject to strict behavioral expectations. During the Choson Dynasty, widowhood was extremely unfavorable. Chastity, then, was considered a women's abstinence was looked upon as more valuable than her life. The Kisaengs clearly contradicted Korean expectations for women. Kisaengs were taught to be witty conversationalists, extravagant in their beauty, highly educated and sexually indiscriminate. Throughout their careers, they had sexual affairs with various yanbang. The Kisaengs are expected to be very intelligent and clever. Chastity was not expected of them, and their virginity and sexuality was seen as a commodity to be sold and exploited. They not only provided physical beauty, but their education enabled them to offer stimulating company. The Korean empire remained weak and became increasingly submissive to the power of Japan. Korea was consequently annexed to Japan and the Japanese attempted to destroy Korean culture. Prostitution became increasingly widespread. Young women were forced into military prostitution for Japanese Soldiers. During the end of World War II, Soldiers, devoid of female company, inevitably turned to Korean women as representation for their burdens and loneliness. The Status of Kisaengs, however, steadily declined during this periods. For the most part, American soldiers did not take the time to understand their history and culture. They were not interested about anything that the Koreans had beforehand. The lack of interest and the decreased appreciation of the skills of the Kisaengs become a lost art. Despite the fading of the traditional Kisaeng, the economic prosperity of the last half of the twentieth century resulted in a flourishing prostitution industry. The growth of the middle and upper class endowed millions of Koreans with disposable incomes, and men could increasingly afford to pay for sexual services such as sex tours, room salons and nightclubs. In the 1960's, an average female worker, who grossed under 100,000 won per month, a prostitute made more than 200,000 won. As of year 2000, it was estimated that up to twenty percent of Korean Women between the ages of 15 and 29 had been involved with jobs that served sexual purposes. This led to an increase in street prostitution. The traditional Kisaengs, however, nearly disappeared. Due to the availability of prostitutes and sexual entertainment services, the Kisaengs were no longer reveres as the most desirable women in society.

        Throughout Korean History, a woman's self-worth and honor were measures by her chastity and adherence to men. Females have consistently been expected to be obedient, fertile, intangible, and above all, sexually abstinent. The Kisaengs, however, contradicted Korean expectations for women; for hundreds of years; they served as sexually promiscuous performing women who offered intelligent and charming company to wealthy men. Due to the arrival of foreigners in the twentieth century, Kisaengs,  were reduced to the same status of common prostitutes. Demand for sexual services caused the South Korean prostitution industry to expand, and women found employment in sexually oriented establishments. Due to this, the role of Kisaengs greatly decreased but the Korean fixation with sexual abstinence remained. The Korean insistence on sexual abstinence and the strict Confucianism standards are the primary source of the dominance of the Kisaengs and the growth of the sex industry. Despite the insistence on chastity and the commonness of Confucianism, prostitution has had an extensive presence throughout Korean History. Although the number of Kisaengs have declined, the modern prostitution industry experienced expansion in the mid to late twentieth century. On both a historical and contemporary level, the lasting of the Korean prostitution industry is a product of the standards placed on the people, resulting in the abuse of women throughout history. Both the dominance of the prostitution industry and the hypocritical claim upon chastity has expanded throughout history, and in the future, will most likely continue to play a major role in Korean culture.