[Side B] Activist at Sixty Part 1_"17 Years of Women's Movement, I'm Glad I Did It."

A Proud Minority for a Better Alternative World

From Ordinary Housewife to Activist
Addressing Sexual Violence Seemed Difficult
But I Wanted to Share What I Learned

[Editor's Note] Following the enactment of the Special Act on Prostitution, the abolition of the family head system, and the Constitutional Court's ruling of unconstitutionality on abortion laws, last month saw the revision of the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth from Sexual Abuse. The women's movement in the 2000s played a pivotal role in setting the direction amid winds of change. Behind this was the unseen effort of women’s movement activists striving to ensure female victims would not suffer twice before the law. As the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center marked its 29th anniversary, we heard news of an activist reaching the age of sixty. We met with Jeong Jeong-hee, director of Yeollimteo (a victim protection facility affiliated with the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center) (above), and Lee Mi-kyung, director of the center (below), at the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul, to hear their candid life stories.

Jeong Jeong-hee, Director of Yeollimteo affiliated with the Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center (Source=Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] "I suddenly realized that many of the things I enjoy are not just natural but rather cases where I was especially lucky. If sharing what I have learned and come to know is the beginning, then the best place to share is the counseling center. Before I knew it, I had come this far."

Jeong Jeong-hee, a 17-year veteran women’s movement activist and director of Yeollimteo (a victim protection facility affiliated with the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center), turned sixty this year. She lived an ordinary and smooth life as a housewife before becoming an activist after passing her forties.

There was no special trigger for her to become an activist. In the late 1980s, when food scandals were rampant, she took an interest in environmental issues as a housewife. At that time, her intention was simply to learn about eco-friendly food to better manage household chores. Former Minister of Environment Kim Eun-kyung, who had devoted herself to environmental activism following the Nakdong River phenol leak incident (1991), served as chairperson of the Environment Committee of the Korean Women’s Minwoo Association in 1993. Around that time, Director Jeong also joined the Minwoo Association as a member.

After engaging in various activities at Minwoo, ranging from food to environmental issues, she began to open her eyes to women’s issues in 2004 while receiving counselor training. The first issue she encountered was the abolition of the family head system. "Since it didn’t affect my life at all, I wondered why the family head system needed to be abolished. I thought it didn’t matter who the family head was, but I came to realize that for some people, it was a big problem and a social issue."

Director Jeong Jeong-hee of Yeollimteo, affiliated with the Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center, who attended last year's workshop (Source=Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center)

At that time, she says she did not truly feel the problem firsthand but was educated to recognize it. Even when she moved from Minwoo to the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center, she thought the issues handled at the counseling center were 'someone else’s problems.' Director Jeong said, "Sexual violence counseling was too burdensome. At Minwoo, we mainly dealt with family issues, such as conflicts between husbands and in-laws."

"After coming to the counseling center and listening to stories and studying, I realized that I too had strange teachers and strange men when I was in school. That’s when I understood that I couldn’t just let it go."

Since becoming active at the counseling center, Director Jeong could no longer overlook incidents happening around her. She said, "After the 'Nayoung case,' whenever I heard noises in public restrooms, I would take a closer look, and when walking through apartment complexes, I would check if there were any problems."

Without uttering a threatening word, she once chased away a sexual harasser. Witnessing a man harassing a woman on a bus, she approached the woman, handed her a business card, and loudly said, "I work at the Sexual Violence Relief Center. Please call me if you need help." The man behind the woman immediately disappeared.

No Issues with Husband Due to 'Strategic Equality Relationship'
Learns from Younger Activists
Term Ends Next Year

Her family has been a great support during her late start as an activist. Director Jeong said, "My husband considers himself a feminist. Honestly, in the past, when people heard I was involved in the women’s movement, they expected the worst, thinking my husband would oppose me, but he never did. Expectations were ridiculously low," she said with a laugh. She added, "We divided household chores so that I do what he dislikes, and he does what I dislike. It wasn’t about strict equality but maintaining a 'strategic equality relationship.'"

Director Jeong has always kept close to her heart the advice she heard during sexual violence counseling training: "If you live unaware, you can live, but once you know, you can’t live as before." She said, "The women’s movement seemed radical and scary, but once I understood what I didn’t know and thought sharing that was the movement, I felt at ease."

Even at sixty-one, Director Jeong remains active. She continues to counsel victims and studies new sexual violence cases as they arise. Thanks to her long experience, her perspective has changed. She said, "When shelter victims seemed to be going down the wrong path, I used to wonder if I had done something wrong in counseling, but now my thoughts have changed. They have their own milestones, and even if it looks like they are going the wrong way to me, I believe those milestones can change in unseen ways."

One lunchtime, Jeong Jeong-hee, Director of Yeollimteo affiliated with the Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center (Source=Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center)

Director Jeong plans to leave the Sexual Violence Relief Center next year as her official term as director expires. She confidently said there would be no major changes. "If tomorrow is the last day, I will continue doing what I have been doing until then," she said. "Other than commuting, nothing will change."

Wanting to live as someone who loves people and nature especially deeply (hence her activist name 'Sa.Ja.'), and having dreamed of becoming a middle school history teacher, she quietly continues to make history today as a women’s movement activist resembling a silver-maned lion’s claw.

She left a message for the next generation of activists: "Don’t exhaust your mind and body over every little thing. Like a steady walker, keep going without getting tired."