From a Radical New Woman to a Devout Zen Buddhist Nun: The Evolution of Kim Wŏnju’s Worldview

Kim Wŏnju (also known as Kim Iryŏp, (1896–1971) went down in modern Korean history as one of the main representatives of the ‘New Women’ in the 1920s and remains an icon for contemporary feminists, even though later in her life she underwent a radical spiritual and ideological transformation. As a feminist intellectual, she devoted herself to gender issues and the fight to change the position of women in Korean society. As an influential Buddhist nun, she studied religious teachings and sought to interpret the existence of modern man and woman through a religious worldview. The article is devoted to two seemingly completely different phases of the life of Kim Wŏnju – a radical feminist writer and a pious Buddhist nun, searching for self-awakening and authentic personal freedom.