Gender in Pachinko

 Over time, I definitely noticed various patterns regarding gender roles. One main issue I noticed regarding gender roles in the novel relates to the role a woman has regarding working, as women during this time primarily stayed at home and took care of the children as well as preparing meals for their husbands. The men were expected to go to work every day to provide for their families, and this was an expected duty as being a caretaker is an expected duty of women. One main difference I noticed between Sunja and Kyunghee is how it was okay for Sunja to work outside the home due to her status as a woman, but Kyunghee wa to remain in the home. One passage I would like to focus on is on page 123 when the novel speaks about Kyunghee’s dream of owning her own kimchi business. It states,” Kyunghee’s dream was to own her own business selling kimchi and pickles… Yoseb disapproved of her working for money. He liked coming home to a rested and pretty housewife who had his supper ready–an ideal reason for a man to work hard, he believed”(Lee 123). The gender roles during this time were very old fashioned as the husband was able to have almost full control of his wife and the daily duties his wife must have. There was non room for negotiation and the wife must accept her duties and she must complete them according to these standards.

Noticing differences in roles between women is interesting to locate, especially noting the differences between Kyunghee and Sunja. One part of the text that stood out to me was,” Her brother-in-law, Yoseb, was in actuality saying that a yangban woman like Kyunghee couldn’t work outside the house; Sunja was an ordinary peasant’s daughter, so working in a market was fine for her.The distinction didn’t trouble Sunja, since she agreed that Kyunghee was a superior person in so many ways”(Lee 129). I found this passage to be significant because there was a large amount of comparison going on between these two, and Sunja accepted the fact that she was seen as “less than” and “too plain” compared to Kyunghee. Noting these issues in the novel also makes me think about the issues regarding these gender roles that are still present in the world today. 





Comments

  1. Jenna ChinnFebruary 28, 2022 at 10:31 PM

    I like your point about Yoseb being able to control Sunja and Kyunghee. Despite women a husband to be seen as "valuable" or "worthwhile," it was the presence of her husband that was limiting Kyunghee's potential. I think that speaks to the impossibility of the situation, when at the time women had no way of escaping the limits of their gender.

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  2. Javier MartinezMarch 7, 2022 at 11:57 PM

    I like how rather than observing the differences in roles between different genders, you observed the difference in the image and role of different women depending on their background. I think it really adds an interesting additional dynamic onto already traditional gender roles, and it makes me wonder at what point with these cultures they made that distinction between what different women could and couldn't do based on their own background.

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