Modernity, Women, and Buddhism in Korea: Kim Iry p & Na Hyes k

Hyangsoon Yi

Christianity was an integral element of Korea’s experience of colonial modernity in the early 20th century. The influence of Christianity was especially strong on a small group of pioneering women who openly challenged the feudal legacy of Confucian patriarchy that had dominated Chosn Korea (1392-1910) for nearly five centuries.

My article concerns two such women, Kim Iry p (1896-1971) and Na Hyes k (1896-1948). These two women, along with Kim Myngsun (1896-1951), constituted the first generation of women writers in modern Korean literature. All three artists grew up in Protestant families and attended Western-style modern schools in Korea. Later, the three of them were also privileged to study in Japan. Their iconoclastic writings on women’s education, romance, and marriage shocked mainstream Korean society, creating the vogue of “New Women” in the 1920s.

As New Women, Kim Iry p and Na Hyes k led lives full of dramatic and even sensational events. One of the most extraordinary aspects of these two women’s lives was their embrace of Buddhism. Kim renounced household life in 1928 at the age of 33 and spent the rest of her life at Sudk Temple, until her death in 1971. Na considered the monastic path for herself as well, taking up residence near major temples for several years. Unlike her close friend Kim, however, in the end Na failed to pursue monastic life. Whereas Kim finished life as a highly revered Sn Zen) master with a number of disciples, the details of Na’s final moments remain unknown to this day. The only piece of information available on her death was that an “unidentified and unclaimed” female corpse was kept at a charity hospital for the homeless run by the city government. That anonymous body marked the tragic ending of Korea’s first professional woman painter and writer.

The biographies of Kim and Na pose a host of questions, one of which certainly concerns their conversion to Buddhism. What inspired these two prominent “modern girls” to turn to the traditional religion of Buddhism? In what respects were their views on Buddhism consistent or inconsistent with their visions of women’s status in modern society? What was the relationship between their artistic desires and spiritual pursuits? Why did they make different decisions concerning monastic life and what does this difference tell us about their feminist ideals?