TABULA RASA: VIEWING THE BODY OF HWANG JIN YI AS A SPACE OF RHETORICAL CREATION

Abstract

This thesis offers a rhetorical analysis of the reinscription of Korean ginyeo/gisaeng Hwang Jin Yi across three South Korean media adaptations (1986, 2006, 2007), using the body as a rhetorical space. It explores how film and television reimagine historical figures as ideological and aesthetic constructs shaped by market imperatives. Hwang Jin Yi emerges as a cultural tabula rasa, re-authored through portrayals that blend purity, subversion, and spectacle. Through comparative media analysis, the study reveals tensions between historical fidelity and creative revisionism, showing how narrative, visual, and character choices sanitize her transgressive legacy. These portrayals reflect patriarchal norms, feminist discourse, colonial memory, and global capitalism, while also serving South Korea’s cultural soft power strategies. The thesis argues for rhetorical studies, especially those centered on embodiment and cultural critique, as essential for analyzing adaptation, historical memory, and representation. It deepens understanding of gendered performance and the politics of visual storytelling in global media.