Viewing the Body of Hwang Jin Yi as a Space of Rhetorical Creation
Harley Khaang, Spring 2025
Thesis Director: Earl Brooks
Committee Members: Kate Drabinski and Drew Holladay
This thesis examines how South Korean film (1957, 1961, 1969) and television adaptations (1986, 2006, 2007) reimagine the historical ginyeo Hwang Jin Yi. Using the body as a rhetorical space, this thesis analyzes how these portrayals balance historical fidelity with creative revisionism, often sanitizing her transgressive legacy. The study highlights how gender, power, colonial memory, and global capitalism shape her representation, while also serving South Korea’s cultural soft power.