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This dissertation explores the ways in which the problem of violence against women has been constructed as a public and social problem in South Korea. Violence against women is a common problem that women share around the globe; at the transnational level, the “women’s human rights ” framework has been widely accepted and celebrated by human rights activists as the best way to combat violence against women. However, the experience of activists at the local level suggests they confront serious, contextual obstacles to this framework, forcing them to develop a more culturally relevant framing. Dissertation research was based on multiple methods, including document research, in-depth and semi-structured interviews with key actors, participant observation, frame analysis and institutional ethnography. The dissertation analyzes several key issues. First, the reasons behind and ways in which Korean feminist activists constructed a framework emphasizing “preservation of the family ” as a tool to elicit public and political support is the major focus of the dissertation. Second, how, why and with whom they forme