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:
Still, I recoil whenever I see a young woman smoking.
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.
Still, I recoil whenever I see a young woman smoking.
Redeemed by Our Savior, I work out my salvation with fear and trembling in Pohang, South Korea, where I live with my wife, daughter, and son and teach English at a science and technology university. Baptized a Methodist and raised a Missouri Synod Lutheran in Buffalo, NY, I spent six years as a guest of the Anglican Communion before being received by the Grace of God into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church on the Feast of Saint Andrew, my patron, anno domini 2002.
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