The study of Na Hye Seok’s short stories : reflections of confucian culture and the status of Korean women

Abstract

This thesis aims to study the image of Confucianism and the status of Korean women presented in five of Na Hye Seok’s short stories: Kyeong hee, Hway saeng han son nyeo ege, Won han, Hyeon suk and Omoni wa ttal. Na Hye Seok was a famous feminist writer in Korea in the early 20th century. She had many literary works representing Korean society in various contexts. The life of Na Hye Seok also spanned a very important transitional period in Korean society, which was the last year of Joseon dynasty, the Japanese colonial rule and Korea after liberalization. This study found that all of Na Hye Seok’s short stories develop her views through her writing career. They were written during the Japanese colonization of Korea, the period when the influence of Confucian concepts as the state ideology was declined. However, the reflection of Confucian culture that rooted in family and social values still showed in short stories, especially an influence on the status of Korean women.