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Introduction

Introduction By Samuel Perry iterature about what now is oe ft n referred to as “non-normative” Lgenders and sexualities has existed in Korea for centuries—in works of fiction, poetry and biography—even as what counts as “normative” has shie ft d over time. It was in the wake of Korea’s colonization, and with the advent of “compulsory heterosexuality” in the first few decades of the 20th century, for example, that the institutions and discourses defining normativity transformed signic fi antly, ee ff ctively stigmatizing “abnormal” people in new, and newly comprehensive, ways. It has been only in the last decade or so that “queer” (kwiŏ), too, has emerged as an important umbrella category in South Korea to encapsulate a consciousness, an identity, and a broader cultural formation, which has sought to collectively recast what was once stigmatized in affirming ways—as queer activists have fought legal battles, as queer historians have sought to unearth untold histories, and as queer writers have forged new modes of representation when it comes to stories about people who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community. 1. For an excellent analysis of a Chosŏn Dynasty homoerotic poem, for example, see Carter J. Eckert, “Male Concubinage Notes on http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Azalea: Journal of Korean Literature & Culture University of Hawai'I Press

Introduction

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Publisher
University of Hawai'I Press
ISSN
1939-6120
eISSN
1944-6500
DOI
10.1353/aza.2022.0001
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

By Samuel Perry iterature about what now is oe ft n referred to as “non-normative” Lgenders and sexualities has existed in Korea for centuries—in works of fiction, poetry and biography—even as what counts as “normative” has shie ft d over time. It was in the wake of Korea’s colonization, and with the advent of “compulsory heterosexuality” in the first few decades of the 20th century, for example, that the institutions and discourses defining normativity transformed signic fi antly, ee ff ctively stigmatizing “abnormal” people in new, and newly comprehensive, ways. It has been only in the last decade or so that “queer” (kwiŏ), too, has emerged as an important umbrella category in South Korea to encapsulate a consciousness, an identity, and a broader cultural formation, which has sought to collectively recast what was once stigmatized in affirming ways—as queer activists have fought legal battles, as queer historians have sought to unearth untold histories, and as queer writers have forged new modes of representation when it comes to stories about people who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community. 1. For an excellent analysis of a Chosŏn Dynasty homoerotic poem, for example, see Carter J. Eckert, “Male Concubinage Notes on

Journal

Azalea: Journal of Korean Literature & Culture – University of Hawai'I Press

Published: Jul 14, 2022

References

  • Epistolary Korea: Letters in the Communicative Space of the Chosŏn, 1392–1910
    Eckert, Carter J.; Haboush, JaHyun Kim
  • Luka
    I-hyŏng, Yun; Chang, Jamie
  • The Bone Thief
    Chŏngŭn, Hwang; Bruce; Fulton, Ju-Chan
  • Chosŏn k'wiŏ: kŭndae ŭi t'ŭmsae e sumŭn pyŏnt'aedŭl ŭi ch'osang (Hyŏnsil munhak
    Min-jŏng, Pak Ch'a
  • Queer Korea
    Henry, Todd A.