[KS] two queries

Yuh Ji-Yeon j-yuh at northwestern.edu
Tue May 30 17:28:32 EDT 2000


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hello everyone,

two unrelated queries that i hope list members can answer:

1)
does anyone have any information on whether "honor killings" have ever been 
or still are present in korean culture and society? "honor killings" are 
incidents in which male family members kill a female relative, usually a 
daughter or sister, because the female relative is alleged to have engaged 
in some kind of sexual shame (pre-marital sex, relations with a male whom 
the family disapproves of, extramarital affair, etc.) and has thus brought 
shame on the family name and honor. killing her is the way to restore 
family honor.

"honor killings" are alleged to be common in islamic societies and other 
"backward" cultures and are starting to be a cause celebre in western 
feminist circles, much the way that genital mutilation has been. it appears 
that many people are assuming that "honor killings" also exist in asian 
cultures, i.e., in korea and in china. in fact, some are claiming that 
these honor killings are going on right now, in the present. so..... is 
there any evidence for this belief? has korea ever had honor killings, 
either in the past or in the present? is there any evidence that korean 
culture is conducive to honor killings? i want to stress that an honor 
killing is not the same thing as committing suicide to prevent a shame or 
to atone for a shame -- in one, the person kills herself; in the other, she 
is murdered by her own family members.

in addition, would any confucian beliefs (or peculiarly korean beliefs, for 
that matter) preclude honor killings and instead consider it a shame to 
kill one's own blood?

2)
does anyone know of a memoir written by a korean resident in japan and 
published (in japan) in the early 1990s that describes growing up korean in 
the tsuruhashi district of osaka? the author's name, in korean, is kim 
hyang do ja. unfortunately, i don't know the chinese characters for hyang 
and do that she uses in her name, so i'm not sure what her japanese name 
would be. also, i had heard that this memoir was to be translated into 
korean. was it? if so, under what title and by whom? any information on 
this memoir and the author would be greatly appreciated. i am going to 
japan this summer and hope to be able to meet with the author, so i'm 
looking for info on how to find her.

with many thanks,
yuh ji-yeon


_____________________________________________________________
Yuh Ji-Yeon                     History Department, Northwestern University
j-yuh at northwestern.edu  Harris 202, 1881 Sheridan Road
1-847-467-6538          Evanston, IL 60208  U.S.A.


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<html>
<font size=3>hello everyone,<br>
<br>
two unrelated queries that i hope list members can answer:<br>
<br>
1) <br>
does anyone have any information on whether "honor killings"
have ever been or still are present in korean culture and society?
"honor killings" are incidents in which male family members
kill a female relative, usually a daughter or sister, because the female
relative is alleged to have engaged in some kind of sexual shame
(pre-marital sex, relations with a male whom the family disapproves of,
extramarital affair, etc.) and has thus brought shame on the family name
and honor. killing her is the way to restore family honor.<br>
<br>
"honor killings" are alleged to be common in islamic societies
and other "backward" cultures and are starting to be a cause
celebre in western feminist circles, much the way that genital mutilation
has been. it appears that many people are assuming that "honor
killings" also exist in asian cultures, i.e., in korea and in china.
in fact, some are claiming that these honor killings are going on right
now, in the present. so..... is there any evidence for this belief? has
korea ever had honor killings, either in the past or in the present? is
there any evidence that korean culture is conducive to honor killings? i
want to stress that an honor killing is not the same thing as committing
suicide to prevent a shame or to atone for a shame -- in one, the person
kills herself; in the other, she is murdered by her own family
members.<br>
<br>
in addition, would any confucian beliefs (or peculiarly korean beliefs,
for that matter) preclude honor killings and instead consider it a shame
to kill one's own blood?<br>
<br>
2)<br>
does anyone know of a memoir written by a korean resident in japan and
published (in japan) in the early 1990s that describes growing up korean
in the tsuruhashi district of osaka? the author's name, in korean, is kim
hyang do ja. unfortunately, i don't know the chinese characters for hyang
and do that she uses in her name, so i'm not sure what her japanese name
would be. also, i had heard that this memoir was to be translated into
korean. was it? if so, under what title and by whom? any information on
this memoir and the author would be greatly appreciated. i am going to
japan this summer and hope to be able to meet with the author, so i'm
looking for info on how to find her. <br>
<br>
with many thanks,<br>
yuh ji-yeon<br>
<br>
</font><br>
<div>_____________________________________________________________</div>
<div>Yuh
Ji-Yeon<x-tab>     </x-tab><x-tab>        </x-tab><x-tab>        </x-tab>History
Department, Northwestern University</div>
<div>j-yuh at northwestern.edu<x-tab>  </x-tab>Harris 202, 1881
Sheridan Road</div>
<div>1-847-467-6538<x-tab>  </x-tab><x-tab>        </x-tab>Evanston,
IL 60208  U.S.A.</div>
<br>
</html>

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