@article{ART003348870},
author={Shin Young Sun},
title={What Does Gender Reversal Make Visible? Gender Grammar in a Korean Adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull},
journal={Cross-Cultural Studies},
issn={1598-0685},
year={2026},
volume={78},
pages={25-52},
doi={10.21049/ccs.2026.78..25}
TY - JOUR
AU - Shin Young Sun
TI - What Does Gender Reversal Make Visible? Gender Grammar in a Korean Adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull
JO - Cross-Cultural Studies
PY - 2026
VL - 78
IS - null
PB - Center for Cross Culture Studies
SP - 25
EP - 52
SN - 1598-0685
AB - This paper examines The Seagull: If One Is Different, All Are Different (2020) as a case study in gender-swapped adaptation, analyzed across three axes.
First, Chekhov's original The Seagull, while not overtly patriarchal, is structured by invisible gendered asymmetries. These include asymmetrical address, a hierarchical division of labor between writer and actor, the writer's objectifying power, and a double standard regarding female emotionality. Second, the adaptation merges gender reversal with Koreanization as a single translational act. Two structural reconfigurations are particularly decisive: the mother-son dynamic transforms into a father-daughter relationship, activating a distinct power grammar, and an unintended cousin relationship introduces an incest taboo absent from the original play. Third, the adapted text is reinterpreted through the lens of Korean gender grammar, which refracts rather than corrects the original's asymmetries. The adaptation generates surplus meaning at the intersection of the source text's inherent asymmetry (A) and Korean gender grammar (B). Meaning is preserved where these align, but where they diverge, meaning vibrates and produces this surplus. This work serves as a model for repertoire-level dramaturgical gender experimentation within Korean performance culture.
KW - Chekhov;The Seagull;gender-swapped adaptation;repertoire reform;performativity
DO - 10.21049/ccs.2026.78..25
ER -
Shin Young Sun. (2026). What Does Gender Reversal Make Visible? Gender Grammar in a Korean Adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull. Cross-Cultural Studies, 78, 25-52.
Shin Young Sun. 2026, "What Does Gender Reversal Make Visible? Gender Grammar in a Korean Adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull", Cross-Cultural Studies, vol.78, pp.25-52. Available from: doi:10.21049/ccs.2026.78..25
Shin Young Sun "What Does Gender Reversal Make Visible? Gender Grammar in a Korean Adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull" Cross-Cultural Studies 78 pp.25-52 (2026) : 25.
Shin Young Sun. What Does Gender Reversal Make Visible? Gender Grammar in a Korean Adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull. 2026; 78 25-52. Available from: doi:10.21049/ccs.2026.78..25
Shin Young Sun. "What Does Gender Reversal Make Visible? Gender Grammar in a Korean Adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull" Cross-Cultural Studies 78(2026) : 25-52.doi: 10.21049/ccs.2026.78..25
Shin Young Sun. What Does Gender Reversal Make Visible? Gender Grammar in a Korean Adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull. Cross-Cultural Studies, 78, 25-52. doi: 10.21049/ccs.2026.78..25
Shin Young Sun. What Does Gender Reversal Make Visible? Gender Grammar in a Korean Adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull. Cross-Cultural Studies. 2026; 78 25-52. doi: 10.21049/ccs.2026.78..25
Shin Young Sun. What Does Gender Reversal Make Visible? Gender Grammar in a Korean Adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull. 2026; 78 25-52. Available from: doi:10.21049/ccs.2026.78..25
Shin Young Sun. "What Does Gender Reversal Make Visible? Gender Grammar in a Korean Adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull" Cross-Cultural Studies 78(2026) : 25-52.doi: 10.21049/ccs.2026.78..25
