hình tượng người phụ nữ mới trong một số tác phẩm tiêu biểu của tự lực văn đoàn và văn học hàn quốc thời nhật thuộc tt tiếng anh

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

BANG JEONG YUN

IMAGE OF THE NEW WOMAN IN SOME TYPICAL WORKS
OF THE SELF-RELIANT LITERARY GROUP (tù lùc v¨n
®oµn)
AND IN KOREAN LITERATURE DURING JAPANESE
COLONIAL PERIOD
Specialty: Vietnamese Literature
Code: 9.22.01.21

SUMMARY OF THESIS OF PhD IN LITERATURE


HANOI - 2020

The thesis is completed at:
Hanoi National University of Education

Instructor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Van Toan
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Hai Anh

Review 1: Prof. Dr. Tran Nho Thin

University
Humanities

of

Social

Sciences

and

Review 2: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoa Dieu Thuy
Hongduc University
Review 3: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dang Thu Thuy
Hanoi National University of Education

The thesis will be defensed at the University
Level Thesis Assessment Council of Hanoi
National University of Education
At … 00' date … moth … year 2020


The thesis can be searched at:
- Hanoi National University of Education
Library
- Vietnam National Library


1

INTRODUCTION
1. The reason to choose this topic
1.1 Vietnam under the colonial rule of French and
Korea under the rule of Japanese have many
similarities in historical, cultural and social context.

Although the two countries had to endure oppression,
invasion, and suppression from the colonists, at the
same time they absorbed and were influenced by more
modern culture, in which women have many new
opportunities to participate in social life.
Influenced by more modern culture, women have
become more aware of themselves and had a desire for
equality, independence as well as to liberate and assert
themselves, contribute to society. All of these changes
have made the woman one of the central artistic images
in the literary works of many typical authors at that time.
This is the reason for us to conduct a comparative
study of the image of the woman in the works of The
Self-reliant Literary Group (Tự Lực Văn Đoàn) and in
Korean literature under the Japanese rule.
1.2.
Understanding
the
similarities
and
differences in the image of women in Vietnamese and
Korean literature in the early twentieth century not
only helped identify the attributes of regional literature
in a period of special sharing. common ground
(influenced by Confucianism, colonial context,
modernization trend ...), but also helps to better
understand the characteristics, both achievements and
limitations, in literature and culture of the two
countries. gia. This is also a trend of literary research
now as well as in the future.

1.3. As a Korean graduate student, I have been
working at the Korean Embassy in Vietnam for 6 years.


2

During that time (with the main job of registering for
civil status and nationality for multicultural families,
especially marriage and divorce registration for
Vietnamese brides in Korea) I noticed a lot of Negative
problems arise due to a lack of understanding of
culture and people between the two countries.
Therefore, I have the desire to clarify the cultural
characteristics of Vietnamese and Korean women, to
better understand the spirit, habits and conduct of
women in the two countries, and to help them. have
conditions to better integrate with the living
environment in their new country.
Those are the reasons for us to conduct a
comparative study of the image of the woman in the
composition of the Self-reliant Literature and the
woman in Korean literature in the Japanese colonial
period.
2. Research Purposes
- Notice the laws of the acculturation and literary
innovation of each nation after being influenced by the
Western.
Understand
the
literary

and
cultural
characteristics of the two countries.
Understand
more
about
the
cultural
characteristics of Vietnamese and Korean women,
thereby contributing to promoting the exchange and
integration of citizens between the two countries,
especially with women.
3. Object and scope of the study
a. Object of the study
The object of study that we identify is the image
of the woman in the works of The Self-reliant Literary
Group (Tự Lực Văn Đoàn) and in Korean literature
under the Japanese rule.
In particular, the term "new woman" mainly


3

associated with the inner meaning is the formation of a
new standard of women under Western influences with
two main meanings: anti-religious (Confucian); have a
sense of ego, a sense of the right to life.
b. Scope of the study
- The Self-reliant Literary Group (Tự Lực văn
đoàn): focus on investigating the novels: Đoạn tuyệt

(The End), Nửa chừng xuân (Mid-spring), Lạnh lùng
(Estrangement).
- Korean Literature: focusing on the works:
Worship ancestors in the mountain, Weaver Girl,
Mother and daughter, New Year Eve and Beautiful
Sunset.
4. Research mission
- Surveying the typical works about women of the
Self-reliant Literary Group (Tự Lực văn đoàn) and the
Korean literature under Japanese rule period.
- Conduct comparisons to find out the similarities
and differences in the image of women in the Self-reliant
Literary Group (Tự Lực văn đoàn) and the Korean
literature under Japanese rule period.
- Finding out the socio-cultural characteristics to
explain the differences and similarities of the female
image in the Self-reliant Literary Group (Tự Lực văn
đoàn) and the Korean literature under Japanese rule
period.
5. Research methods
- Analysis – synthesis method
- Comparative method
- Statistical survey method
- System method
- Interdisciplinary research method
6. New contributions of the thesis
Our dissertation is the first project to compare


4

these two objects to show similarities and differences,
thereby helping to not only look more deeply into the
achievements of each group, each country's literature but
also allow generalization of literary composition
characteristics within regions in a specific historical
context.
7. Structure of the thesis
The thesis consists of 4 chapters:
- Chapter 1. Overview of the research situation
- Chapter 2. Social and cultural background for the
appearance of the image of woman in the works of The
Self-reliant Literary Group (Tự Lực Văn Đoàn) and in
Korean literature under the Japanese rule.
- Chapter 3. The similarities of woman’s image in
the works of The Self-reliant Literary Group (Tự Lực
Văn Đoàn) and in Korean literature under the Japanese
rule.
- Chapter 4. The differences of woman’s image in
the works of The Self-reliant Literary Group (Tự Lực
Văn Đoàn) and in Korean literature under the Japanese
rule.


5

CHAPTER 1
OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH SITUATION
1.1. Comparative literature and its application
to Vietnamese and Korean literature in the early

twentieth century
Comparative literature has existed for a long
time, gradually developed and to this day, it has been
identified as "an academic field dealing with the study
of literature across nation”.
The basic object of comparative literature are
literary phenomenon belonging to different literature
background of different ethnic groups. Hồ Á Mẫn
identified comparative literature as an international
discipline: “Its basic spirit is to treat the world
literature as a whole, to place literature from different
countries into a holistic structure to discern and
compare it (...) thereby describing and mastering the
rules and relationships of literature ".
According to researcher Nguyen Van Dan,
comparative literature consists of 3 parts: (1) studying
the relationship between literature backgrounds which
have influence on each other; (2) study of the
similarities between the literature backgrounds which
have no direct influence on each other (similarities
prescribed by historical conditions); (3) study the
differences between literature background to show the
distinctive characteristics of literature in each nation.
The methods used are very diverse, including the
positivistic method, typology, the structured method,
the semiotic method, the system method, the
sociological method, the psychological method. The
aspects to be taken into account include genre, theme,
thought, style, trend, school of art.

6

In short, comparative literature is a scientific
discipline that points out the similarities and differences
between literary phenomena of different literature
backgrounds. Therefore, the comparison between two
modern Vietnamese and Korean literature in the early
twentieth century, especially through a common motif
- the image of the new woman from the perspective of
comparative literature theory, is fit and helpful.
1.2. History of studying the image of woman
in the works of The Self-Reliant Literary Group
(Tự Lực Văn Đoàn)
1.2.1. About the content of thought
Most researchers highly appreciate the works of
The Self-Reliant Literary Group (Tự Lực Văn Đoàn)
because of their thoughts through the image of
women: “ It is a harsh condemnation about the
religious and moral ceremony, feudal family practices,
upholding the slogan of women's liberation and
personal liberation ”. Truong Chinh since 1935 soon
pointed out the hidden implicature behind the love and
marriage story in Đoạn Tuyệt (The End): “The intention
of Mr. Nhat Linh when he wrote Đoạn Tuyệt is to make
the reader love the new and hate the old. After reading
Doan Tuyet, if we hate the old, love the new, find a
way to leave the old and follow the new, the author is
considered to be successful”.
The authors Tran Dang Tuyen and Le Quang Hung

think that their thoughts are still throughout and
dominate the content of the works: “The unique
feature of the love novel of The Self-Reliant Literary
Group (Tự Lực Văn Đoàn) is that it is not a pure love
story. It not only talks about love with its own
emotional rules, with the joys, happiness, and suffering


7

that it gives couples, but Khai Hung, Nhat Linh, and
Hoang Dao always consciously integrated some social
reform ideas into their love stories ”.
Referring to the issue of women, it is impossible
not to mention the image of female characters in the
works of The Self-Reliant Literary Group (Tự Lực Văn
Đoàn). The world of female characters in their literary
novels is a type of character that researchers call by the
name "new women". The authors Tran Dang Tuyen and
Le Quang Hung said: “These characters are called the
new men and the new women (...) These people are
influenced by the cultural ideology, civilization, and
lifestyle of modern Western. They oppose feudalism,
fight for individualism, love and free marriage. They
promote the Europeanization movement from literature,
art, clothing to the ways to enjoy material life. ".
1.2.2. About the expression art
The artistic value is very much interested and
pointed out by many researchers. This value directly
related to the female characters in two aspects:

physical beauty and inner beauty.
In terms of appearance, Trinh Ho Khoa
emphasized the sense of describing the appearance of
the character: “Starting from The Self-Reliant Literary
Group (Tự Lực Văn Đoàn), physical beauty is considered
the standard for assessing a complete person. This
represents a new aesthetic perspective of the era (...)”.
"The characters' appearance gradually give the reader a
gradual satisfaction and evoke a sense of enjoyment"
[citing Do Hong Duc; 18/27In terms of inner beauty,
Truong Chinh said: “ Doan Tuyet (The End) not only has a
social value, but it also has undeniable psychological
value. Nhat Linh used a sophisticated observation to
describe the troublesome states in the characters' own


8

souls and to delve into their inner lives ”.
1.3. History of studying the image of the
woman in Korean literature during the Japanese
colonial period.
1.3.1. About the content of thought
Overall, the works are appreciated in the sense of
liberating women. Kim Mi Hyun commented on the work
Mother and Daughter: "The work Mother and daughter of
Kang Kyung Ae was written in August 1931 and was
recommended by a Hye Sung magazine editor, so it can
be called as the author's first work. Through the work,
she tries to find a way to deal with the oppressive

situation of the woman at that time in different
relationships. Thus, the main character always focuses
on the issues of women "Reviewing the work "New Year's
Eve", Kim Min Jeong said: “The work highlights the
image of a woman with the desire to enjoy freedom of
love and be an independent "subject". Therefore, Choi
Jung-in became "a woman who aspires to control her
own life". Yoon Byung Lo also made the same
statement about the work Weaver Girl: “The character
Lee In-Sook was built based on the image of the
author's wife. The main female character has a
transition from a traditional woman into a new person.
She wants to escape from the old-fashioned traditional
values and seek for happiness and real values in life
through helping others ”.
1.3.2. About the expression art
Korean researchers have pointed out the artistic
innovations in the works of Korean writers. Hong Ki
Sam appreciates Choi Jung Hee's ability to describe
women's psychology: “Choi Jung Hee's novel clearly
depicts a woman's psychology, they are different from
the poor depiction of women in literature in the 1930s,
especially describing the conflict between instinct and


9

intellect”. Regarding the work New Year's Eve, Kim Yun
Sik commented: “The art of character development,
which is completely different from other works of the

same
time,
has
created
the
unique
and
unmistakableness of this work (...) Besides, it is also
necessary to pay attention to the way of telling the
story, which is in the form of writing a letter telling
one's life. It may carry the subjective of the author, but
it helps to fully express what the author wants to
convey in each character ”.
1.4. Sub-conclusion and orientation of the
thesis
The above research history in both Vietnam and
South Korea shows the excitement, dialogues, and also
the differences and contradictions in the studies of
women in literary works at the beginning of the early
20th century in the two countries. In Vietnam as well
as in Korea, the researchers all pointed out and
appreciated that the literary works of this period have
successfully built up the image of "the new woman",
make "the new woman" became a prominent literary
symbol in the early twentieth century. However, from
the perspective of comparative literature, it can be
seen that no study has put these two objects into a
meticulous and comprehensive comparison. The above
works, on the one hand, deeply exploit the
characteristics and achievements of each literature,

but on the other hand, they cannot see those features
in a broader scope, beyond the limits of national
borders.
Regarding the issue of comparing the image of
the woman in the works of The Self-reliant Literary
Group (Tự Lực Văn Đoàn) and in Korean literature
under the Japanese colonial period, we, on the one


10

hand, continue to go deeper into the characteristics
that have been previously pointed out by researchers
of the two countries, and at the same time overcome
the abovementioned limitation of the previous
researchers. The multifaceted similarities of the two
countries, the two literature in the first half of the
twentieth century, from social context, literary context,
to ideological movements, cultural trends, literature,
vigorous change of writers, and the similarity of topics,
themes, and artistic images (in this case, the image of
a new woman) are the basis for us to implement the
thesis. A comparative view between the two countries
(this is also the basis which allows the following works
to expand the scope with the countries and regions
mentioned above) not only helps us identify and
generalize similarities, but also at the same time
promote the distinctness and uniqueness of each
nation and each literary author through the issue of
women.

CHAPTER 2
SOCIAL AND CUTURAL BACKGROUND FOR THE
APPERANCE OF THE IMAGE OF WOMAN IN THE
WORKS OF THE SELF-RELIANT LITERARY GROUP
AND KOREAN LITERATURE DURING THE JAPANESE
COLONIAL PERIOD
2.1. Traditional concept of feudal woman
2.1.1. The woman in feudal Vietnamese
society
From the 15th century, Confucianism in Vietnam,
especially the Song Dynasty Confucianism, occupied a
unique position and became an official ideology. So the


11

Confucian morals which tied to women became much
heavier. Although they did not have to follow strictly
the rule of three subordinations (tam tòng), the woman
is still in a weak position compared to men.
While men have many social and educational
benefits (going to school, taking exams, serving as
officials),
women
have
absolutely
no
such
opportunities, even they are banned. The woman is

closely attached to the family space, bound by the
responsibilities for her husband's family and
dependent on her husband and children, and the
marriage is often arranged by her parents. Since 1470,
the Le Dynasty has issued 24 instructions to
strengthen the religious rites, making the three
subordinations and the four virtues (tam tòng, tứ đức)
become moral standards for women. This shows the
harsh Confucian conception of female virginity, the
injustice, and the harsh imposed of Confucianism on
women.
2.1.2. The woman in feudal Korean society
During the Joseon period (1392-1910), Confucianism
officially became a unique ideology with "rigid and
rigorous rules which tightening the Three Moral Bonds
and Five Constant Virtues.”
"The traditional Korean women are also caught up
in harsh and inhumane moral dogmas: "There is no
native language school for women, and even though
upper-class women are taught literacy, but it is
estimated that out of 1,000 people, only two Korean
women can read. The philosophy imported from China,
the superstitious notions, the education system for
men, illiteracy, no rights, and rigid customs, have


12

joined together to push Korean women into the lowest
position among the backward peoples of the world. ”

Thus, Confucianism had far-reaching influences on
Vietnamese and Korean society in the late nineteenth
century, in which women had almost no status, no voice.
They were turned into victims of the harsh, conservative
practices of feudalism, which bound them within the
family and in inhuman ethical frameworks.
2.2. Western and the formation of new
ideas about woman
2.2.1. The modernization of Vietnamese
society
2.2.1.1. Formation of new urban centers and
urbanite class.
In order to meet the political, cultural, and
especially economic needs, the colonial government
carried out a series of policies to build and develop major
cities across the country. In those cities, the class which
accounts for a large number and has a significant meaning
to the face of urban Vietnam, is the petty bourgeoisie,
including civil officers, small businesspeople, intellectuals,
and students. These new cities, under the influence of the
West, have brought in a new color, which has made urban
life more active and capable of absorbing much newer
things.
2.1.2.2. The emergence of new West-style schools
and education policies for women
By the early twentieth century, Confucian
education was basically completely replaced by the new
type of Western education system and school. Regarding
the curriculum, the teaching of Chinese, as well as the
contents of Chinese studies, was limited and strictly

13

controlled. Instead, French and new subjects (such as
mathematics, physics, chemistry, physiology, history,
morality, ...) widely taught. Learning content is also
increasingly
expanding
with
modern
Western
knowledge. In other words, education is constantly
being
reformed
towards
modernization
and
Europeanization. For women's education, there are
specialized schools for women.
2.1.2.3. The proliferation of newspapers and
publishing activities to spread new culture
Newspapers in this period had played two major
roles: spreading European-Western ideology and culture
into Vietnam; demolish the old-fashioned practices,
conservative habits of feudal Confucianism and rural
customs. The growth of the press in general and the
women's press in particular, has had many important
effects on women's perceptions. The aforementioned
journalists and writers, while spreading the European

and Western ideology and destroying the feudal
practices, in a natural and indispensable way, voiced
their advocacy for the rights of women.
2.1.2.4. The influence from new thoughts of
Western on people in general and on women in
particular
Consists of 2 major movements: the introduction
and spread of liberal ideas about people and society as
well as the feminist trend in the West. These
movements quickly spread to Vietnam and brought a
new perspective on the woman.
2.2.2. The modernization of Korean society
2.2.2.1. Western and the role of Japan in modernizing
Korean society


14

Japan officially colonized the Korean peninsula in
1910, but before that, Japan has taken a series of
measures to initially reform the Korean peninsula in
terms of both economy and society. That contributed
to promoting the change and development of the
concepts about people, especially the concept of
women who had low social status at that time.
2.2.2.2. Urbans and modern Western reception
The process of urbanization, together with the
influence of Japan and the West, has opened a new life
with new experiences for women. For example, they
could do things such as going to the cinema, going to

the cafe, walking on the bustling streets or going
shopping. Urban life has created a new image of
women which is far different from themselves in
traditional appearance and costumes.
2.2.2.3. New education for women
It must be said that Korean education in this period
has changed significantly. Despite being restricted than
men, Korean women began to enjoy a new and relatively
widespread education during the Japanese colonial rule.
It can be said that the new modernized and general
education applied by the Japanese government in Korea
has brought about positive changes, including the birth
of a growing group of women, called "modern women",
"new women".
2.2.2.4. The birth of "sin yosong" in the press and a
new awareness of woman
From the beginning of the twentieth century,
Korean women appeared under a new name: "modern
women".
Sin yosong, translated into Vietnamese means


15

"new woman", but, more commonly in Vietnamese
newspapers and literature in the early twentieth
century, was the name "modern woman", or "new girl".
The common point of this "modern women" group is
that they are all educated (also known as female
students - yohaksaeng), sometimes referred to as the

elite group of women who have literary, educational,
political and newspaper activities., ... In 1924, there
was a definition of the new woman: "The new woman
[sin yosong] has the knowledge and awareness of
equality, and different from the traditional woman,
they are determined to fulfill their dreams”.
2.2.2.5. Family problems and the phenomenon of
divorce are becoming more common
In the 1920s and 1930s, families which followed
feudalism began to be broken down and carried new
features of modern families. The idea of opposing
traditional Confucian concepts has brought about new
family problems such as separation, celibacy, and
divorce - something that cannot have and cannot be
allowed in feudal society.
2.3. Modernized literature and woman's
issues
2.3.1. Modernizing literature and the
concept of the Self-reliant Literary Group (Tự
Lực Văn Đoàn) on woman's issues
With all the factors analyzed above, in the context
of Vietnamese society in the early twentieth century,
Vietnamese
literature
entered
the
process
of
modernization. The Self-reliant Literary Group (Tự Lực
Văn Đoàn) as a literary group declared its foundation in

1933 with 7 original members, taking literary newspaper


16

Phong Hoa "Mores" as their mouthpiece. The remarkable
point of The Self-reliant Literary Group is that besides
being a literary organization, it is also a social and
cultural organization. The authors used literary
composition as a way of speaking up to improve the
community, including the people issues in general as
well as female issues in particular.
2.3.2. Modernizing literature and the struggle
for the liberation of woman by Korean writers
during the Japanese colonial period
Since the 1920s, with the development of cultural
activities carried out by Korean intellectuals to reform
Korean society, literary magazines, followed by writers
and literary groups, were established. Under the new
"Cultural rule" policy, Korean writers almost immediately
promoted literary activities to reform traditional literature.
Along with the modernization of Korea, the new literature
has had positive changes under the influence of Western
culture and literature in opposition to feudal literature.
Kim Dongin, a prominent writer in the early twentieth
century, said: "The simplest way is to learn Westernstyle".
Entering the twentieth century, in just a short
time, the female writers, became more and more
powerful. Instead of participating directly in the
national liberation movement (which had previously

been despised, underrated by social and even by male
patriots), they focused on liberating women, reforming
traditional practices that imposed women as a
secondary position. Taking advantage of the new
cultural policies of the colonial government, the
woman turned her pen into a weapon.


17

2.4. Some similarities and differences
between Vietnamese and Korean society in the
early twentieth century
2.4.1. Similarities
- Influenced by ideology from Chinese cultural
- The colonial situation and the struggle for
independence, the sense of preserving the national
identity became an urgent and widespread need.
- Acquire new Western ideas and modernize in the
fields of social life, which leads to the birth of new
literature and a new conception of women. The issue
of women became the focus of social life in this period.
2.4.2. Differences
- The historical and cultural correlations between
colonial subjects in Vietnam and Korea are different
(French-Vietnamese, Japanese-Korean), leading to
different cultural policies.
- In terms of writers, there are relatively powerful
female authors in Korea. They have literary works,
involved in political and social activities, as well as

activities promoting women in Korea. Vietnamese
literature has almost no female writers, except for a
small number of journalists, activists and female poets.
Regarding the Self-reliant Literary Group (Tự Lực Văn
Đoàn), all the writers are men.

CHAPTER 3
THE SIMILARITIES OF WOMAN'S IMAGE IN THE
WORKS OF THE SELF-RELIANT LITERARY GROUP
(TỰ LỰC VĂN ĐOÀN) AND KOREAN LITERATURE
DURING THE JAPANESE COLONIAL PERIOD


18

3.1. The "New" Woman - Victim of old morality
and patriarchy
3.1.1. No freedom in love and forced
marriage
All of the characters in the selected stories of this
thesis are somehow forced into a marriage they don't
want. They must marry a husband they don't love or
even know his face. Loan (Đoạn Tuyệt/The End), Nhung
(Lạnh Lùng/Estrangement), Mai (Nửa Chừng Xuân/MidSpring), Zzocan (Worshiping ancestors in the
mountain), In-Sook (Weaver Girl), mother and daughter
Yepun and Yoki (Mother and daughter), Choi Jung In
(New Year's Eve), Sun Hee (Beautiful Sunset) are like
that.
They used to be young girls, have dreams of family
happiness (Mai, Yoki, Choi Jung In), have dreams of an

ideal husband (Zzocan), or even is in love with a certain
boy (Loan, Sun Hee), but in the end they cannot come to
the person they love, they cannot follow their dreams.
After the thrust of life, forced by their parents, they are
forced to give up their true feelings and accept an
arranged marriage.
3.1.2. Being abused by the husband and
husband's family
The woman often suffered harsh, unfair treatment
from her husband's family. This issue stems from the
inequality between the husband's family and the
bride, in which the woman has no right to speak up to
protect herself, to defend for her rights and
personality. About the relationship between the bride
and husband's family, modern Vietnamese and
Korean writers continue to exploit this inequality,
posing social issues when building a common model:
the husband's family, especially the husband and


19

mother-in-law are the representatives of cruel
religious ideas, and the woman (as the bride)
represents the new ideas, the aspiration for
innovation, freedom, and progression.
In Asian societies such as Vietnam and Korea, until
the beginning of the twentieth century, women still
suffered from serious inequality in the family. In the
relationship with the husband and the husband's family,

the women were the direct victims of feudal customs
when the husband's family always imposed on them
harsh and inhumane lifestyles. Thanks to the
opportunity to study and come up with new ideas,
which are contrary to traditional religious views, they
always dream, desire to live freely, have a sense of the
right to life and the right to be happy. Society forced
them to be submissive while their minds want to
escape and change. The more aware they were about
their personal life, the more they tried to escape. And
this caused the tragedy of life for all new women.
3.2. The beauty of the new woman image
3.2.1. Traditional beauty in the new woman
image
The desire for love and happiness is a new point
in the progressive thought of women in literature in
the early twentieth century. Nevertheless, they still
stand out with the courageous choice of sacrificing the
happiness of themselves to build happiness for their
loved ones. This sacrifice was discussed by many
researchers with conflicting notions. On the one hand,
they considered it a quality beauty in women. On the
other hand, they considered it a surrender of women
to feudalism (at the same time they criticized the
writers who did not thoroughly address the thought of
anti feudalism that they set out). We believe that it is


20

necessary to see the duality of this point. On the one
hand, the woman's sacrifice is used by writers to
express a feminine aspect formed through the long
tradition of Asian women. Sacrifice is considered a
feminine identity, a unique identity in women. On the
other hand, it also shows the struggles between the
old and new forces, between the old-fashioned
conception and the modern open-minded spirit. There
is a persistent question about a woman's choice of
whether to surrender or to protest, to accept sacrifices
within the boundaries of religious concepts or to act
upon the call of their heart. But whatever the answer
is, the sacrifices of the female characters are worthy of
respect and praise.
3.2.2. Woman with progressive ideas of the
times
The progressive and modern ideas of women in
the early twentieth century in Vietnam and Korea
cannot appear endogenously in the Confucian feudal
environment, but only when the emergence of new
elements (see chapter 2 of this thesis) can they create
new awarenesses about women. The most significant
and decisive factor is the knowledge and educational
environment. It can be seen that most of the "new
women" characters are female students, who go to
Western schools and are influenced by Western
education. It is from here that new ideas about the right
to live, about individuals, love, and marriage have been
spread. The woman has had a profound sense of
individual rights: the right to freedom and selfdetermination of happiness. They realized themselves as

an individual with the full right of a human being, the
right to freedom and the pursuit of happiness. The
women had spoken up to ask for the right to live for


21

themselves, the right to freedom of action, and to
decide their own life and destiny. From a heightened
awareness of the right to life, the woman had the spirit
to resist the social norms to protect love, protect the
right to life and personal happiness. The spirit of
protest is clear, even with extreme or superficial
actions, but all of them showed the attitude of not
accepting the reality of women. In general, in these
characters, there is a process of changing perceptions
and actions, from staying calm to gain happiness, to
fierce struggles to win and to get happiness for
themselves.
3.3. Some similarities in terms of art
3.3.1.
Visual
depiction
of
character
appearance
Referring to the female characters in the
compositions of the Self-reliant Literary Group and of
the Korean writers in the Japanese colonial period,
there is one thing in common, as mentioned, they are

all new women, and in the writing perspective of the
writers, they are the representative of progressive,
modern ideas, and the symbols of the spirit against
feudalism. For that reason, these female characters
have one thing in common: they are beautiful women.
Their beauty embodies the ideas, the desire for
happiness, the youthful and fresh, as opposed to the
old, grotesque regime. In other words, the appeal in
their new thought comes first from the appeal in
physical beauty.
3.3.2. Internal monologue and in-depth
description of character psychology
At the period of the Self-reliant Literary Group (Tu
Luc Van Doan) in Vietnam and writers in the 30s of
Korea, literature changed drastically with deep with


22

detailed descriptions of the character's inner
psychology. The mood of the character seems to be
completely exposed in the eyes of the reader. And
more importantly, that inner world is now shown in a
very new way, internal monologue. Internal monologue
means that the character facing himself to express
emotions, to think, even to dialogue with himself. It is
the truest form of reflecting the human soul. Exploiting
the depth of character psychology and applying a high
frequency of internal monologues in the works of the
Self-reliant Literary Group and of the Korean writers

under the Japanese colonial period had brought great
effect in depicting the image of the woman.

CHAPTER 4
THE DIFFERENCES OF WOMAN'S IMAGE IN THE
WORKS OF THE SELF-RELIANT LITERARY GROUP
(TỰ LỰC VĂN ĐOÀN) AND KOREAN LITERATURE
DURING THE JAPANESE COLONIAL PERIOD
4.1. The oppressive tragedy of women and
the problems of Vietnamese and Korean society
in the early twentieth century
4.1.1. The oppressed tragedy of women and
the problems of Vietnamese and Korean society
in the early twentieth century
Both of the works reflect the situation of forced
marriage (from the parents), but in Vietnam, it is
associated with the concept of suitability. In Korea, the
woman becomes a victim of forced marriage due to
inequality in economic status. These two points seem to
be opposite: in the works of the Self-reliant Literary
Group, marriage is considered to be valid according to