1hwanhyangnyeo (Korean term for women who returned home after being abducted during the 17th-century Manchu invasions of Korea, only to be ostracized as defiled)
The 'returned women' suffered great discrimination in Joseon society.
Tips
history
Korean reading 환향녀 (hwanhyangnyeo). After the 1627 and 1636 Qing invasions, tens of thousands of Korean women were taken to Manchuria. Those who returned — often after being ransomed by their families — were rejected by their husbands' clans on grounds of 'lost chastity'. The Joseon court even ordered ritual ablutions, but the social stigma never lifted.
culture
The Korean slur 화냥년 (hwanyangnyeon) — a vulgar term for an unfaithful woman — is widely believed to derive from 还乡女, although linguists debate the etymology. Either way, the historical wound shaped Korean attitudes for centuries.
