NIRVANA

One of the standout cover stories in Arxipelag Volume III, Nirvana by Daesung Lee digs into the lived reality of Korean women from past generations. Turning his lens on his own family, Lee documents the quiet weight of his mother’s life—her duties, her sacrifices, and the dreams that never quite made it to the surface.

In the early 1970s, Korea was still dominated by conservative Confucian values, and it was rare for women to have careers. Marriage and becoming a housewife were considered the norm. In an era when three generations often lived together, my mother had to take care of not only my grandparents but also my younger uncles and aunts, as well as my older sister and me, while managing all the household chores. Korean women of that time silently endured the everyday discrimination and domestic violence that were ingrained in society. They lived not for their own lives but as someone’s wife and someone’s mother.

A 20 pages article awaits for you in the current issue of the magazine, available in our shop or from the link below.