Neo-liberalism and women's lives
The emergence of one-person households as the most common household type in 2012, the rise of the "non-marriage" trend, the deepening social polarization evidenced by the term "dirt spoon" in 2015 and the phenomenon of the total fertility rate dropping below 1.0 in 2018 have culminated in low birthrates and a decline in the school-age population.
This has led to an operational crisis for various institutional universities and seminaries. Furthermore, the decline in social trust toward the Korean church and the decrease in congregants due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 have exacerbated the difficulties in managing seminaries.
The tide of neo-liberalism, which accelerated in the late 2000s, spread values of individualized effort, the entrepreneurial self, self-development and self-management. This influence prioritized practicality and tangible benefits as supreme values, causing a crisis for women's studies or feminist theology courses and departments. Consequently, interest in feminism and feminist theology weakened, or a backlash against feminism emerged, leading to the cancellation of women-related courses and the dissolution of representative bodies like female student councils.
For individual (especially young) women, surviving fierce competition for employment and survival by improving personal specs became the top priority. Lacking both time and financial resources, it became difficult for them to engage with or participate in feminism and feminist theology. Under the influence of neo-liberal globalization, individual women have become transnational, borderless "others" and migrants, existing in a state where mutual interest and intimate hospitality are absent.
In the case of Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary and Methodist Theological University, female student councils have disappeared since 2010, and courses related to feminist theology have faced cancellations. As a result, stable entry into professorships for female theologians has been blocked, leading to difficulties in training the next generation of scholars and hindering the continuous academic development of feminist theology.
Since 2011, Korean society has witnessed the weakening of the so-called "model family" due to the deinstitutionalization of marriage, persistent gender conflict triggered by the #MeToo movement and extreme competition between men and women over limited economic resources in an era of low growth. In terms of economy and labor, while regular and full-time positions remain male-centered, women’s jobs have seen increased casualization and part-time shifts, resulting in career interruptions, the gender pay gap and the feminization of poverty.
In this context, some women and feminist theologians experiencing isolation and alienation amid family dissolution, rising individualism and economic pressure seek to pursue empathy with others, relationality, and the dignity, justice and peace of all human beings. While valuing the Sitz im Leben (setting in life) and the experiences of women subjects, they must navigate the hardships caused by the ruthless neo-liberal economy through solidarity with other women and the marginalized.
Lee Nan-hee studied English in college and theology at Hanshin University.