South Korea: Alternative Culture Publishing
Project Update
The Korean adaptation of Our Bodies, Ourselves was published in 2005 by Alternative Culture Publishing, which grew out of the women’s movement in South Korea, and the Korean Sexual Violence Relief Center, with input and support from a team of young university women and local partners. For example, a feminist group, Women’s Voice in Haenam, help set up a reading group and the Women’s Committee of Korean Teachers & Educational Worker’s Union helped test content in their trainings.
Here are some examples of what was adapted in this edition:
- Information on sexual and domestic violence and ecological movements was heavily emphasized to highlight the tremendous progress South Korean women have made on these issues.
- Fair amount of content on the health care system and movement building in the US was deemed irrelevant and modified to the South Korean context; on the other hand, content on certain unfamiliar topics, such as homosexuality and abortion, was retained in full because the coordinating group felt that information on US laws and activism would be helpful.
- A list of resources (books, films, websites, and contact numbers) was included in every chapter.
Roughly 3,000 copies of the book were made available through conventional and online bookstores. Unfortunately, due to the rapidly worsening condition of the publishing industry in South Korea, the coordinating group has reported rather disappointing sales since publication.
If you would like more information about this project and explore ways you might get involved, please contact the OBOS Global Initiative staff.
Meet the Coordinating Group
Alternative Culture is a Korean feminist network that promotes feminist consciousness through publications, cultural activities, and lectures. Read more
Established in 1984, the organization is dedicated to creating "an equal and open (Korean) society where women and men have true companionships, and children grow up with freedom, through planting a seed of an alternative culture." In 1987, Alternative Culture founded a publishing company called Alternative Culture Publishing to promote and sell its annual journal, Equal Parent, Liberal Children. Interestingly, issues addressed in the journal helped highlight and encourage public discussion on love and sex for the first time in Korean society. Another publication that drew attention was Reading Texts and Everyday Lives in Post-colonial Era, for its criticism of colonialism in Korean academics. The organization has gone on to publish other books on feminism, education, and cultural theory; they have also been publishing books for girls since 2002. In 2005, they collaborated with the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center on a cultural adaptation of Our Bodies, Ourselves. For more information, please contact either the OBOS Global Initiative or the organization directly. Here are their details. Contact Person: Seunghee Ryoo Address: #302, Daejae-villa, 184-6 Dongkyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul 121-818, Rep. of Korea Email: ryoolee@tomoon.com / tomoon@tomoon.com Phone: 82-2-324-7486 Fax: 82-2-323-2934 Website: www.tomoon.com Close
Looking for a Copy?
If you would like copies of the Korean adaptation, please contact Alternative Culture Publishing at orders@tomoon.com or 82-2-324-7486 (x202); and don’t forget to check their website for excerpts. If you are looking for a copy in the US, please contact Koryo Books at 35w 32nd St. New York, NY, 212-564-1844
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