Women in the North Korean Revolution

The laws promulgated by Kim Il Sung's regime formally accorded women rights that during the Japanese colonial era and previous generations were denied to them.

North Korea (DPRK) continued to shoulder neo-Confucian virtues that extolled sacrificial motherhood and added a new emphasis on the nuclear family.

The North Korean government initiated a series of social reforms that sought to reintegrate the traditionally underprivileged elements — workers, peasants, women, and youth — into society during the early years of the revolution (1945-1950).

Kim Il Sung and the North Korean Provisional People's Committee (NKPPC) immediately legalized equality between the sexes in order to garner more popular support.

However, the North Korean regime still maintained the traditional Confucian beliefs that extolled the centrality of family and praised revolutionary motherhood.

This was articulated in a 1949 text on DPRK law crafted by the People's Committee in Kangwon Province described how "marriage and family are protected under the state.

[6] The propaganda and images spurred by the DPRK continued to praise revolutionary motherhood and represent women who embraced the traditional Korean virtues of feminine purity, self-sacrifice, and morality.

[6] Established in November 1945, the North Korean Democratic Women's League was one of the first organized groups to rally behind the leadership of Kim Il Sung and the NKPPC with the intent of upholding democracy, eliminating fascists and national traitors, building a strong and wealthy government, and working to overthrow feudal customs and superstitions.

[8] After national liberation had been achieved, North Korean authorities sought to put more emphasis on socialist construction during the 1950s.

Legal reforms that sought to get rid of oppressive traditions was no longer the focus, and instead the government tried to make women part of the workforce.