The “Homosexual Code” in Contemporary Korean Theatre: The Case of Shakespeare’s R & J in Seoul

This essay critiques the vogue of "the homosexual code" in contemporary Korean theatre, with a close-up analysis of ShowNote Company's Shakespeare's R & J that premiered in 2018. It first examines the surge of queer-themed films and theatres since the mid2000s in relation to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Asian theatre journal 2022-03, Vol.39 (1), p.116-132
Main Author: Im, Yeeyon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptations
Boys
College faculty
College teachers
Commodification
Consumption
COVID-19
Drag (Performance)
Gays & lesbians
Homophobia
Homosexuality
Korean culture
LGBTQ studies
Masculinity
Minority & ethnic groups
Motion pictures
Neoliberalism
Popular culture
Sexuality
Shakespeare plays
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Theater
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Summary:This essay critiques the vogue of "the homosexual code" in contemporary Korean theatre, with a close-up analysis of ShowNote Company's Shakespeare's R & J that premiered in 2018. It first examines the surge of queer-themed films and theatres since the mid2000s in relation to the growing visibility of homosexuality, the changing concept of masculinity, the "flower boy" syndrome, and neoliberalism in South Korea. Defining the "homosexual code" as a distancing strategy of encoding homosexuality to bypass homophobia, I problematize the way queer subject is appropriated for novelty and spectacle in the theatre industry. The second part of the essay examines ShowNote's R & J in depth, partly in response to a recent discussion of Choo Min Ju's Our Bad Magnet (2012) by Claire Maria Chambers. Pointing to a close resemblance between the two, I argue that both shows adopt the established formula of "the homosexual code, " contingent upon the neoliberal ideology of commodification and consumerism.
ISSN:1527-2109
0742-5457
1527-2109
DOI:10.1353/atj.2022.0004