Contrastive study of proverbs in Japanese and Korean languages : Concerning the view on men and women

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and to clarify the characteristics of the view on men and women bycomparing Japanese and Korean proverbs and so we can get information to understand their cultural and traditionalbackgrounds. It is very important to find the root of the modern view by studying the past.The view on men and women in the proverbs of both countries is thoroughly based on the sexual discrimination,that is, men are superior to women. Especially, the negative view on attribute of women is often included in this dis-crimination.Furthermore, there is big difference between the Japanese and Korean proverbs from the view point of socialposition of men and women. Man and woman are as opposite as two poles in the Korean proverbs, while, the affir-mative view on attribute of women frequently appears in the Japanese proverbs. Hence, Japanese women mightsecure the higher position than Korean women in their houses