청소녀의 성적 재현에 관한 연구

A Study of Girls’ Sexual Representation: Focusing on Korean Films of 2000s

Girls, who had been considered ‘Asexual beings,’ have been viewed as sexual beings by the society with the arrival of neo liberal capitalism since 1990s. This reality has been reflected in Korean films. In other words, with the disappearance of taboo on the representation of girls’sexuality, films that deal with girls’ sexual behaviors and acts have been produced. This study analyzes Korean films made in 2000s in which girls are represented based on the visualization of sexuality. This study found noticeable changes along with the traditional representation. First, girls’sexuality is still seen from the perspective that considers it a deviation and representation of girls as victims of sexual violence still accounts for the majority. However, representation of girls who engage in sexual acts voluntarily is a change that has emerged. In addition, girls entering sex industry voluntarily through having paid sexual relations due to poverty have been reflected in the films as well. In Korean films, girls’ sexuality is visualized and used as foregrounding based on excessive sexualization. However, these films do not touch on the process of their constituting sexual subjects as they are called by the sex industry and the girls are represented as characters who lack the will to self determine as sexual beings. Therefore, girls have functioned as storytelling tools, cognitive rewards or metaphor and have not been given the identity of sexual subjects. In sum, in the current cinematic representation, there are ‘bodies engaged in sex’ but there are no ‘sexual subjects.’ In that sense, works raising more reflective cinematic discourse are needed.