Women's Worlds 2005: 9th International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women(WW05) is being organized by the Organizing Committee for WW05.In December 2002 the Korean Association of Women's Studies (KAWS)reached an agreement with Ewha Womans University to co-host the congress by setting up the Organizing Committee and secretariat at the Asian Center for Women's Studies, Ewha Womans University in Seoul. We are very proud and pleased to have many partner schools in organizing WW05, such as Yonsei University, SogangUniversity, Sookmyung Women's University and the Korean Women's Development Institute (KWDI).
Korea, the first Asian country to host the 9th International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women, offers a unique environment for exploring the ways in which the rapid industrialization of recent decades has changed the lives of women, and also the manner in which women have mobilized development and globalization for their own national feminist causes. We would like to draw the attention of the international community to particular differences in the historical manifestation of patriarchal rule, given the evolution and cultural diversity of the Asian region.The theme for the WW05 Congress:Embracing the Earth:East-West/North-South has been inspired by the distinct advancement of women's social and economic status and their quality of life, achieved while struggling against entrenched patriarchal, paternalistic values and the continuing tragedy of Korea as a divided people.