Gendered Labor and Memory-the Experience of Hanil Girls' High School in the 1970s

This article aims to analyze the memories of graduates of Korea's first industrial school, Hanil Girls' High School, to reconsider their experiences from an educational history perspective. Hanil Girls' High School was established in 1974 as a subsidiary school of the Hanil Synthetic Fiber Co., Ltd.(Hanil Hapsum) in Masan, Gyeongsangnamdo. At its peak, the school boasted 120 classes and 7,200 students, and it coincided with the boom of the Hanil Hapsum in the 1970s, which made Masan one of the “Seven Cities of the South Korea” as well as a forward base for the export industry. The presence of these girls raises the question of how to address the contributions of young women to Korea's industrialization and authoritarian regime. Previous studies have dealt with their experiences as exploited or resisting 'Factory girl' in the process of compressed modernization.

This article analyzes the data of Gyeongnam Women's Oral History, published by the Gyeongsangnamdo Women& Family Foundation, and the memoirs of graduates to examine the agency of women who actively shaped their lives between the identities of ‘Factory girl’ and student. I focus on the fact that the women came from all over the country, lived in schools, factories, and dormitories, and established concrete relationships with the local community. Despite the constraints they faced, the girls viewed school as a stepping stone to life and played an important role in shaping the local identity and space of Masan. The 'Paldo Grass Planting' event, in which grasses from their hometowns are planted in the schoolyard, symbolizes the enterprising spirit of the students. This article utilizes the concepts of locality and mobility to characterize the alumnae's memories. In doing so, it reflects on the multi-layered meaning of industrial school during the period of high growth, and highlights the importance of enriching local women's narratives