'Christian pyrexia' and 'education fever' have contributed greatly to the empowerment of women in Korea and helped with the transformation of Korean society more broadly. This article begins with an overview of the Confucian gender constructs and delimiting social expectations of women in the pre-modern period. It then focuses on the changing…

UIL has published a second edition of a collection of case studies of promising literacy programmes that seek to empower women. "Narrowing the Gender Gap: Empowering Women through Literacy Programmes" (originally published in 2013 as "Literacy Programmes with a Focus on Women to Reduce Gender Disparities") responds to the…

Literacy is the foundation of lifelong learning and a crucial element in the universally recognised right to education. However, illiteracy continues to exist as a global challenge, and many individuals still lack the basic literacy skills that are needed to engage in further learning opportunities and for the economic and social development of…

This paper examines the controversies over the Women's Committee of the Korean Teachers Union (KTU) or "Chunkyojo"--in particular, the implementation of the quota policy which requires that 50% of the union's representative body be composed of women. Initially, this policy led to concerns that the KTU's militancy may be weakened.…

East Asia is the region which has experienced unprecedented growth in the past few decades. This growth resulted in the increase in education opportunities and the empowerment of women. Modernization and globalization provided opportunities for many women in China, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Japan. Modern Asian women can obtain…

This paper compares the influence of state policies on gender roles and women's empowerment in China, India, and South Korea. In 1950, these newly formed states were largely poor and agrarian, with common cultural factors that placed similar severe constraints on women's autonomy. The three countries followed very different paths of development,…