Framing Dynamics of South Korean Women’s Movements, 1970s–90s: Global Influences, State Responses, and Interorganizational Networks

South Korean feminist activism has been a paradigmatic case of success in terms of legislating and amending laws and policies germane to gender equality. In explaining the dynamics of South Korean women’s movements, however, existing research that highlights the importance of external structures falls short of analytic acumen. Even when propitious opportunities for movement vibrancy appear, they cannot become consequential gains unless movement participants perceive the opportunities as palpable and capitalize on them. By focusing on the activities of the Korea Women’s Hot Line (KWHL), we explore how the KWHL created a gender frame in the 1970s and changed it in the 1980s and the 1990s and investigate how the KWHL problematized gender violence, identified perpetrators, distinguished the root cause, and furnished solutions. This process of frame construction and reconstitution is not only intrinsic to forming a feminist identity and mobilizing women’s movements but also integral to movement trajectories. Yet, framing and its impact are practiced and constrained within specific domestic and international confines. In the South Korean case, gender frames have been formulated and reformulated by three factors: (1) global influences, (2) state responses, and (3) interorganizational networks.