Acting ‘like a woman

South Korean female action heroines

Bibliographic Data

ID7529068
AuthorsHye-Kyong Sims (corresponding author), Hye-Kyong Sim (Chung-Ang University, corresponding author), Hyekyong Sim (Chung-Ang University)
Year2020
Volume12
Issue2
Pages110-123
Publication date2020-07-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Japanese and Korean Cinema (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1756-4905 • E-ISSN: 1756-4913
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17564905.2020.1840032
OpenAlexW3102887061
LanguageEN
References cited3

Since the early 2000s, South Korean cinema has been dominated by action-noir and blockbuster ‘bromance’ films. However, after the intervention of feminist organizations into mainstream discourse since 2015, one could detect more demands for films featuring female protagonists with adequate gender representations. Beginning with The Villainess (Aknyeo, dir. Jeong Byeong-gil, 2017), women protagonists began to appear in high-budget South Korean action films and are no longer relegated to exclusively passive roles as supporting characters. However, although these new female action films feature spectacular action sequences, they revolve around a narrative structure that falls back on heteronormative and patriarchal conceptions of femininity and represent female characters as erotic spectacles. This paper analyses recent South Korean female action films The Villainess, A Special Lady (Miok, dir. Lee An-gyu, 2017), No Mercy (Eonni, dir. Im Gyeong-taek, 2019), and The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion (Manyeo, dir. Park Hun-jeong, 2018) to diagnose the current state of female action films in South Korea and interrogate what it means to perform ‘like a woman’ in South Korean action films

Action (physics · Physics · Sociology · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · History · Medicine · Psychology

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