The Korean Reworking of Christian Internationalist Emotional Ethics: YWCA of Korea (1911~1950) in Smith College Archives

Key Points

• This research analyzes how Christian internationalist language was transformed into emotional ethics within the Korean women's movement from 1911 to 1950.
• Analyzed documents from the YWCA of the U.S.A. Record Group 11 housed in the Sophia Smith Collection of Smith College.
• Focused on emotional ethics and leadership discourse in the context of Korea's women’s movement during the colonial and post-liberation periods.
• Investigated the interplay between internationalism, imperialism, and nationalism in shaping women's civic identity.
• Emotional ethics of 'leadership' and 'service' were translated into notions of 'faithful service' and 'temperance' in the 1920s.
• By the 1930s and 1940s, these concepts shifted towards 'silence' and 'obedience' amidst Japanese YWCA integration pressures.
• Post-liberation, emotional ethics underwent restructuring into 'civic responsibility' and 'professionalism,' intertwining with national reconstruction discourse.