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Now Blogging Afresh at Ad Orientem 西儒 - The Western Confucian



Monday, June 27, 2005

Female Smokers in Korea
Korean women under the age of sixty are not allowed to smoke in public. There is no law to that effect; the prohibition is enforced by custom, which is more powerful than the force of law.

Here's a fascinating history of female smoking in Korea that states that this was not always the case: [The Dawn of Modern Korea] (301) Where There's Smoke There's Ire.

Of the many reasons the article gives for this shift, this one stands out:
    A large role was played by the Protestant missionaries who were very disapproving of the excessive smoking of the Koreans.
It is possible to see young women smoking in Seoul, but they are usually Japanese. And the many coffee shops are refuges for young Korean female smokers.

Still, I recoil whenever I see a young woman smoking.