Komarova K. A. Inequality between women and men in South Korea: a discourse-analysis of the motion picture “Kim Ji-young: Born 1982”, p. 61-71


The article presents an analysis of gender inequality in the Republic of Korea. The analysis is based on the film “Kim Ji-young: Born 1982”. In this article, the Republic of Korea has been selected as a purpose of gender inequality study for the reason of duality. On the one hand, a strong tradition of relationship between two genders, and on the other hand, an active attempt to introduce and implement main ideas of gender equality. The purpose of this study is to analyze the main challenges faced by Korean society in advancing gender equality through a cinematographic discourse analysis of film titled “Kim Ji-young: Born 1982”. The paper examines and discusses the reaction of Korean Internet users of both genders to the feature motion picture under consideration. The analysis of such movies is also intended to show the relevance of the problem to Korean society. After the release of the novel about a middle-aged Korean woman named Kim Jiyeon, Korean society split into two parts at war with each other. Those who considered the book to be a literal illustration of the problems of gender inequality in Korean society and those who considered the problems described in the text to be exaggerated. News about the release of the “Kim Ji-young: Born 1982” caused an equally strong reaction of the society. Many anti-feminists called for a boycott of the film and accused the actors of being unprofessional. Such an online response is of concern in the study of gender inequality in Korean society. Read in PDF