What do you think marriage is? Do you see it as a partnership based on the love of two people, meant to last a lifetime, or as a contract within a framework defined by social customs, where responsibilities are shared? This question is not only a topic still actively debated in modern society but also one of the fundamental concerns crucial for understanding basic human relationships. However, in the 19th century, even raising such questions was taboo. Harriet Taylor Mill, a radical thinker of her time, broke this taboo and posed a fundamental question: What is marriage, and does it contribute to human freedom and equality, or does it suppress them? Her ideas continue to hold significant meaning for issues concerning marriage and women's rights. In 19th-century Western society, marriage was regarded as a sacred contract between a man and a woman. However, in reality, it had become an institution that, rather than being a sacred bond of love, imposed power and control on men, and subordination and sacrifice on women. Women, in particular, were granted social status based on whether they married a man, and this served as a primary tool for suppressing women's individual desires and rights. It was Harriet Taylor Mill and her partner, John Stuart Mill, who pushed back against this and raised their own voices. Essays published in March and April 2024 by the Online Library of Liberty shed new light on Taylor Mill's radical views on marriage and divorce. In her essays, Taylor Mill clearly argued that marriage in a free society should be a contract between two equal individuals, a relationship based on mutual friendship, and one that could be dissolved if both parties agreed. She sharply criticized the marriage of her time as an unequal relationship between a guardian and a ward, rather than an equal contract, and condemned the reality where women's social status was determined by their marital status. Taylor Mill was regarded as a remarkably radical thinker even among her contemporaries. Her ideas profoundly influenced John Stuart Mill's seminal work, *The Subjection of Women*. Although John Stuart Mill authored the book, scholars recognize that Taylor Mill's thoughts and insights are deeply embedded throughout the work. Indeed, their intellectual partnership played a pivotal role in the development of 19th-century feminist thought, and Taylor Mill clearly demonstrated her stature as an independent thinker, not merely an assistant to John Stuart Mill. Her essays, which encapsulate her views on marriage, meticulously analyze the power structures that inherently permit and sustain the institution of marriage. At the same time, she argued that women should not be confined to the role of a man's ward or subordinate but should enter into equal social contractual relationships. Her stance, that marriage should be redefined not merely as a means of economic survival or a duty to maintain family solidarity, but as a union of mutual respect, friendship, and equal responsibility, caused a significant stir in society at the time. Notably, Taylor Mill's arguments did not remain confined to academic discourse but demanded changes in legal, social, and economic structures. She advocated for 'divorce by mutual consent' as a means to rectify the failures and inequalities of marriage, refusing to tolerate them. While this may seem like an obvious claim to modern eyes, it was a truly revolutionary assertion given the morals and customary norms of her era. Taylor Mill specifically called for structural changes that would allow individual women to maintain their personal independence while also achieving self-realization within a marital relationship. What she emphasized was that marriage should be based on the free choice and mutual consent of both parties, and that the right to separate should be guaranteed when one party no longer wished to continue the relationship. So, what implications do Taylor Mill's ideas hold for our society today, particularly for South Korea? Although South Korea has made significant progress in gender equality and women's rights compared to the past, it still faces many challenges. According to Statistics Korea, while women's economic activity participation rate in Korea has continuously increased, it remains lower than that of men, and career breaks due to marriage and childbirth are particularly prominent among women in their 30s. This indicates that women remain at a disadvantage in the job market even after marriage. Furthermore, the remnants of traditional gender role divisions are even more pronounced in childcare and household labor, acting as a burden that married women must bear. **The Intersection of Modern Korean Society and Gender Equality Discussions** Research reports from the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs consistently point out that household labor and care work in Korean society are still predominantly concentrated among women, posing a significant obstacle to women's econ