Possession by Devil: Women’s Alternative Language; A Feminist Reading of Kim Ji-young, Born 1982

Abstract

Since its release, the film Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 (2019) has triggered national debate both in South Korea and China. Fierce protest by male spectators and applause by female spectators testified to its effective exposure of the smothering patriarchal dominance in South Korea. This article will interpret the symbol of “possession by devil” to reveal women’s imprisonment and madness under patriarchy. Such a possession also provides an alternative language to articulate women’s will to transgress gender norms. From pathologic raving to rational writing, a female narrating subjectivity is finally established.