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A Study on the Exclusion of Girls and Variations of the Twin Sibling Motif in Classic-based Content -Focusing on the comic and drama “The King’s Affection”

  • The Research of the Korean Classic
  • 2023, (62), pp.183-221
  • Publisher : The Research Of The Korean Classic
  • Research Area : Humanities > Korean Language and Literature > Korean Literature > Korean classic prose
  • Received : July 15, 2023
  • Accepted : August 11, 2023
  • Published : August 31, 2023

JUNHEE KIM 1

1서울대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This paper examined how classic-based content can be connected to classical narratives, focusing on the motifs of girl exclusion and twin sibling for the comic and drama “The King’s Affection”. I examined how the core elements of classical narrative motifs, such as the mechanism of girl exclusion and the identicality of appearance between twins, are transformed in “The King’s Affection”. “The King’s Affection” is a story in which the protagonist, who was almost killed for being a girl, cross-dressed and became king instead of her twin brother. It was shown that the exclusion of girls between sibling for the cause of protecting boy and the cross-dressing by the identical appearance of twin sibling, can be found in folk tales and classical novels. In terms of the core content of the motif, the classical narrative and “The King’s Affection” are connected, but the contemporary “The King’s Affection” inherits - intentionally or unintentionally - the main conditions and progress of girl exclusion in the tale of brother-sister conflict, but transforms the motif into a contemporary one by partially overcoming the ‘disavowal’ that was an unconscious mechanism of girl exclusion in the tale. In addition, the similarity in appearance between sibling and the cross-dressing are also found in many classical novels, but there are differences in terms of the impact on the lives of the characters. “The King’s Affection” starts from the ‘identicality of appearance’ between twin sibling, but progresses to a stage where the inevitable ‘difference’ between them is exposed. The heroine’s recovery of her life is realized in terms of securing the independence and uniqueness of individual existence. This ‘individuality’ can be seen as a result of the projection of a contemporary perspective, but it can also be understood as an achievement of transforming classical narrative motifs to suit the contemporary times.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.