"I feel scared and frightened, too. But we must not avoid riding taxis or using public restrooms. We should be able to work late at night, enjoy alcohol if we want to and exercise our rights 100 percent as workers and taxpayers."
So said a woman in her early 30s to hundreds of people gathered in front of a department store in Shinchon on Friday. She was one of the dozens of impromptu speakers at a "street filibuster" for stopping violence against women, organized by Womenlink, a group working to protect women's rights.
It was one of two such gatherings in Seoul, the other near the Gangnam Subway Station where a psycho and self-professed misogynist stabbed a 23-year-old woman to death, Tuesday, who was a total stranger to him.
The crowds at the street filibusters, mostly women and some men ranging in age from their 20s to 50s, shared the experiences of how it is to live in Korea, how they "fear" and "survive" in this society, a considerable part of which ignores – even hates – the other sex.
A woman in her late 20s recalled her experience as a high school student. "On my way home from school one time when I was riding the bus, a man grabbed a part of my body and then went on his way. I knew his behavior was not right but was too scared to tell others about it." Another woman said, "When I was 12, I used a public toilet and was caught by two men reeking of alcohol. I barely escaped but have since been unable to go to a public restroom or walk at night."
Most of the speakers said they were not only victims but often targets of criticism. "People say that immoral women roam around at night and go to ‘dangerous places,'" one speaker said. "Are women not allowed to even go out at night?"
The female participants comforted one another and encouraged all women to be more courageous.
"When I have watched the news of women getting killed through sexual violence, I felt as if I had been killed, so I make it a rule to wear only pants and long-sleeved shirts," another woman said. "But I don't want to give up my work, and don't want to give up wearing short skirts and putting on red rouge."
Most women said they have long felt these unfair, even hostile, social trends but it seems as if they have now found their "language" to express themselves because of the unfortunate, grisly murder.
"Whether the suspect is mentally ill or not is not important in this incident. What matters is women who have suffered from social discrimination and deep sense of unrest almost daily are about to find a social context of response," said Professor Lee Na-young of Chung-Ang University. "This process itself should open the gate for changing public consciousness about the hatred of women."
So said a woman in her early 30s to hundreds of people gathered in front of a department store in Shinchon on Friday. She was one of the dozens of impromptu speakers at a "street filibuster" for stopping violence against women, organized by Womenlink, a group working to protect women's rights.
It was one of two such gatherings in Seoul, the other near the Gangnam Subway Station where a psycho and self-professed misogynist stabbed a 23-year-old woman to death, Tuesday, who was a total stranger to him.
The crowds at the street filibusters, mostly women and some men ranging in age from their 20s to 50s, shared the experiences of how it is to live in Korea, how they "fear" and "survive" in this society, a considerable part of which ignores – even hates – the other sex.
A woman in her late 20s recalled her experience as a high school student. "On my way home from school one time when I was riding the bus, a man grabbed a part of my body and then went on his way. I knew his behavior was not right but was too scared to tell others about it." Another woman said, "When I was 12, I used a public toilet and was caught by two men reeking of alcohol. I barely escaped but have since been unable to go to a public restroom or walk at night."
Most of the speakers said they were not only victims but often targets of criticism. "People say that immoral women roam around at night and go to ‘dangerous places,'" one speaker said. "Are women not allowed to even go out at night?"
The female participants comforted one another and encouraged all women to be more courageous.
"When I have watched the news of women getting killed through sexual violence, I felt as if I had been killed, so I make it a rule to wear only pants and long-sleeved shirts," another woman said. "But I don't want to give up my work, and don't want to give up wearing short skirts and putting on red rouge."
Most women said they have long felt these unfair, even hostile, social trends but it seems as if they have now found their "language" to express themselves because of the unfortunate, grisly murder.
"Whether the suspect is mentally ill or not is not important in this incident. What matters is women who have suffered from social discrimination and deep sense of unrest almost daily are about to find a social context of response," said Professor Lee Na-young of Chung-Ang University. "This process itself should open the gate for changing public consciousness about the hatred of women."
So said a woman in her early 30s to hundreds of people gathered in front of a department store in Shinchon on Friday. She was one of the dozens of impromptu speakers at a "street filibuster" for stopping violence against women, organized by Womenlink, a group working to protect women's rights.
It was one of two such gatherings in Seoul, the other near the Gangnam Subway Station where a psycho and self-professed misogynist stabbed a 23-year-old woman to death, Tuesday, who was a total stranger to him.
The crowds at the street filibusters, mostly women and some men ranging in age from their 20s to 50s, shared the experiences of how it is to live in Korea, how they "fear" and "survive" in this society, a considerable part of which ignores – even hates – the other sex.
A woman in her late 20s recalled her experience as a high school student. "On my way home from school one time when I was riding the bus, a man grabbed a part of my body and then went on his way. I knew his behavior was not right but was too scared to tell others about it." Another woman said, "When I was 12, I used a public toilet and was caught by two men reeking of alcohol. I barely escaped but have since been unable to go to a public restroom or walk at night."
Most of the speakers said they were not only victims but often targets of criticism. "People say that immoral women roam around at night and go to ‘dangerous places,'" one speaker said. "Are women not allowed to even go out at night?"
The female participants comforted one another and encouraged all women to be more courageous.
"When I have watched the news of women getting killed through sexual violence, I felt as if I had been killed, so I make it a rule to wear only pants and long-sleeved shirts," another woman said. "But I don't want to give up my work, and don't want to give up wearing short skirts and putting on red rouge."
Most women said they have long felt these unfair, even hostile, social trends but it seems as if they have now found their "language" to express themselves because of the unfortunate, grisly murder.
"Whether the suspect is mentally ill or not is not important in this incident. What matters is women who have suffered from social discrimination and deep sense of unrest almost daily are about to find a social context of response," said Professor Lee Na-young of Chung-Ang University. "This process itself should open the gate for changing public consciousness about the hatred of women."