Wonwoo Lee

  

Volume 9 | Issue IV | December 2025

Seoul International School ’26

Seoul, South Korea

  

As an avid creative writer, I have always found great enjoyment in writing historical fiction and, in doing so, learning about little, seemingly insignificant details that most history classes overlook, from clothing to transportation. Specifically, when writing stories about the suffragettes, my historical research revealed that many of them rode bicycles, which symbolically demonstrated their independence and capability as they ventured into the male-dominated field of cycling and increased their physical mobility. When writing the bicycle into my stories, I began to discover unexpected connections, from how cycling required women to wear more practical clothing to the backlash they faced from men who deemed bicycles improper. Intrigued, I took the opportunity to explore this topic deeper through this research paper, researching and writing about the safety bicycle’s impact on female culture, female workforce participation, the suffrage movement, and the rise of the “New Woman” concept. I discovered the pivotal role of the bicycle in advancing women’s rights in innumerable ways. I have furthered my exploration of writing and women’s rights in my extracurricular interests by editing for the school newspaper, advocating for equality as a captain of the school speech team, and publishing numerous poems and stories that explore injustices throughout history in literary magazines. Overall, writing this essay for The Schola has motivated me to engage more deeply with women’s studies at university next year.