A woman takes a lead role in Confucian ceremonies, breaking a new path in South Korea

Enlarge this image

Lee Bae-yong and other officials wait to enter the memorial hall at Museong Seowon. She is the first woman to make offerings at the academy.

Jun Michael Park for NPR

hide caption

toggle caption

Jun Michael Park for NPR

Enlarge this image

Men check ancestral offerings before the spring ceremony starts at Museong Seowon. A painting of Museong Seowon’s venerated scholar, Choe Chi-won, a celebrated poet and scholar of Silla kingdom, looks over the offering table.

Jun Michael Park for NPR

hide caption

toggle caption

Jun Michael Park for NPR

Enlarge this image

Men enter Museong Seowon, a Confucian academy in Jeongeup, South Korea, to participate in the spring ceremony in April.

Jun Michael Park for NPR

hide caption

toggle caption

Jun Michael Park for NPR

Enlarge this image

Lee Bae-yong, the first woman to officiate a Confucian ceremony in the country’s long history with Confucianism, at Museong Seowon, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Jun Michael Park for NPR

hide caption

toggle caption

Jun Michael Park for NPR

Enlarge this image

Men pour a drink during the spring ceremony at Museong Seowon.

Jun Michael Park for NPR

hide caption

toggle caption

Jun Michael Park for NPR

Enlarge this image

An overview of Museong Seowon in Chilbo Township, founded in the 1600s. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2019 along with eight other academies in South Korea.

Jun Michael Park for NPR

hide caption

toggle caption

Jun Michael Park for NPR

Enlarge this image

Lee Bae-yong presides over the spring ceremony at Museong Seowon in April.

Jun Michael Park for NPR

hide caption

toggle caption

Jun Michael Park for NPR

Lee Bae-yong presides over the spring ceremony at Museong Seowon in April.

Jun Michael Park for NPR

Lee Bae-yong supports these efforts, though she does not identify herself primarily as a feminist.

«I always stress humanism over feminism,» she explains. «I value the leadership of mothers that embraces and coexists, as both men and women come from a mother.»

She certainly wants higher status for Korean women. But she also describes a broader vision of a humanist renaissance in an age of materialism — and hope in a time of pandemic.

NPR’s Se Eun Gong contributed to this report.