The purpose of this study was to examine the historical background of the development of women's sports in Korea in modern schools established after the Liberal Reformation of 1894, analyze the development of each period from multiple perspectives, an...
The purpose of this study was to examine the historical background of the development of women's sports in Korea in modern schools established after the Liberal Reformation of 1894, analyze the development of each period from multiple perspectives, and to provide information for women's sports to achieve further development in the future. The methodologies employed for this purpose were literature discussion and case analysis. The following summarizes findings of this study:
First, the introduction period was from 1895 through 1945, which was from modern enlightenment through the Japanese imperial rule. Before this time, women's social role was restricted by the paternal system of traditional Confucianism, but the enlightenment philosophy brought changes to women's role. Modern school systems were introduced by the people from the West and the foreign missionaries at the schools for girls introduced basketball, volleyball, table tennis, tennis, and many other sports.
During the Japanese imperial rule, only formal education was provided to obliterate the national culture of Korea, but various sports were introduced as a form of nationalist movement and women's Physical Education was emphasized to improve the national strength of Korea. Women's sports were encouraged by Physical Education classes and athletic events in schools and various sports competitions hosted by newspapers. This was the time when the social perception of women began to change.
Second, the sprouting period was from the liberation of Korea through 1960. Korea underwent a great chaos politically, economically, socially, and culturally, but various efforts were made for cultural development. The society failed to break away from the tradition of paternity completely, but women's social role and status continued to change as they broadened the range of social activities. At the same time, women's Physical Education and sports tried to pursue modernization outside the frame of Japanese tradition, and began sprouting practical and democratic philosophies. Women's sports were mostly developed by the sports teams of schools for girls that even competed for Korea at international competitions.
As Ewha Women's University established the first Department of Physical Education in 1945, various sports for women were introduced and spread across Korea. In 1948, Bong Shik Park became the first female athlete to represent Korea at the Olympics and introduced Korea's women's sports to the world at the 14th London Olympics. Also, the Korean Olympics Committee established Women's Physical Education Promotion Committee to lay the foundation for the development of women's life sports and social sports in Korea. At the same time, the Korean Physical Education Association for Girls and Women was established to promote women's physical education and sports in Korea and YWCA has constantly been supporting women's life sports since the early years of modernization.
Third, the growing period was from the 3rd Administration through the 5th Administration. As Korea achieved industrialization through the economic development plans of the 3rd Administration, its social and national development was accelerated and women were able to improve their social status and increase social participation. With the influence of various feminist theories, women attempted to gain new perspectives for themselves and socially and pursued changes in women's sports by addressing and solving various preexisting problems.
With the new National Physical Education Promotion Act's Elite Sports Policies, many female athletes of Korea demonstrated remarkable performances at international competitions. For example, Lee Elisha and Jung Hyun Sook won gold medals at the World Table Tennis Championships and Park Shin Ja was named the MVP at the World Women's Basketball Championships. Other noted female athletes were Baek Ok Ja in shot put, Choi Yoon Hee in swimming, and the national teams in women's hand ball, field hockey, and archery. The public realized that women's performance at international competitions was made possible by the development of women's corporate teams. Women's participation in life sports also increased with the recognition of various female sports experts, including Professor Han Yang Soon, and many female athletes contributed to nurturing younger athletes and improving women's status in sports after retirement.
Fourth, the development period has emerged since the 6th Administration of Korea. Democracy has been stabilized in the political sector and the economy has achieved constant development. The society has acknowledged diversity within a nation, region, and society and realized the importance of ecological and environmental preservation. The information age has emerged to link the globe and gain multicultural perspectives across the society. Women's sports have met a turning point to create a new human-oriented culture and pursue gender equality through sports.
This has been the golden age of women's elite sports with many Korean female athletes achieving remarkable performances around the world, especially during the Summer and the Winter Olympics. Korean female athletes achieved astonishing outcomes in various events that used to be the weakest points of Korea, including Fencing and Weightlifting of the Summer Olympics and Speed Skating and Figure Skating of the Winter Olympics. In addition, various women's sports organizations, such as the 100 Female Athletes' Association and Women's Physical Education Committee, have been founded to pursue female athletes' human rights. With the birth of Women's Pro Sports, women's sports in Korea have been boasting its growth around the world. The field of women's sports has also achieved exponential growth academically with constant increases in research, in the number of female students, and in the number of faculties. Considering the remarkable development in women's sports, coupled with the development of public media, women's sports is expected to make great contributions to the development of sports in large.