Economic Emasculation

There is a stress of masculinity for men at this point of Korea’s history, and this becomes a main theme of Sopyonje. Dongho’s father, Yubong feels emasculated. This is probably because he is supporting an aspect of history that was not modernizing well. Though the family was supporting a nationalistic and traditional art, they were not able to make a living off of their skill, no matter the skill level. But this is the problem that the family encounters as they are living in a colonized nation. This leads to abuse from Yubong towards his children, following the theme that Choi argues as the absence of adequate fathers. This does in fact result in Dongho feeling responsible for Songhwa, placing the burden of her safety onto his shoulders. Choi does continue this argument and includes the position in which Yubong lands himself, sexually interested in his now blinded daughter. Songhwa relinquishes the little power over herself and of her ‘love’ for Dongho to her father, which does make him feel more masculine.

With this being said, I believe that she fails to acknowledge the economic factors that contribute to gender imbalance and emasculation. In this society it is expected that the men earn the money for the family, and this family failed to earn much to begin with. It was Yubong who got the jobs for the family. And though Dongho played the drum for the performances, he most likely did not earn any money of his own. It is most likely that the family money was pooled together for their food. Dongho could not earn money to protect his sister by taking her away to the city. In the sense of hierarchy, like Choi mentions, and economically, Dongho fails his mission as a man and feels emasculated. He cannot be the caretaker.

The patriarchal society makes Dongho feel obligated to take care of his sister, even though he is in fact younger. This is emphasized by their isolation. They do see other people occasionally, while they are performing in villages and such, but they never really get the chance to interact physically with anybody other than each other. This would lead to Dongho wanting affection from his sister, and him feeling the need to take care of her and protect her from their father, which may lead to the incestuous love triangle of which Choi speaks.