미디어와 자본주의 사회가 만들어낸 몸의 상품성 : 트랜스 젠더 하리수와 커밍 아웃한 홍석천 비교분석 Comparative Analysis on the Differences between Ha, Risoo, a transgender and Hong, Seokcheon who did coming-out = The Commodity of Body Made in Mass-media and Capitalism

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Since 1990s the public attention has been drawn to things with consumption, hedonism and sexual freedom beyond one's attention. Having destructed previous discourses such like people's liberation through fighting for governmental power, which was set up mainly on Labor class, people have taken an alternate discourse on consumption, hedonism and physical sexual freedom, which seem to function as a resistance to power.
Ha, Risoo, who appeared in public with his/her first cosmetic commercial film on TV saying 'Make-up could make men more beautiful than women', has been drawing people's attention, satisfying people's visual pleasure with his/her nice body which appeals to average women who want to be so and men who want women to be so, too. The fact that Ha, Risoo, who was a man, has now a woman body through a capitalistic transformation i.e. an transgendering operation, makes so many women dive into the pool of cosmetic industry.
On the contrary to Ha, Risoo, Hong, Seokcheon was treated, possibly has been treated with the opposite attention from people, when he did coming-out in September 2000. On Daily Sports Sep. 17,2000, an article titled "Hong, Seokcheon. Shocking confession! 'I'm homo'" revealed his identity against his will. After this article he was fired from every TV or radio program which he had taken part in so that he had to make a complete stop his public activities. Though that should be a scoop for a news reporter, a thunderclap for him, which made him lost his way of life.
Why there has been a direct opposition between them? One who saying in public that s/he was attracted by men even before the transgendering operation and the other who, also, is attracted by men but having a men's body.
We can suggest two reasons. One is a mass-media's role showing and describing them to people and the other is their difference of commercial value or commodity in capitalistic market. That is, the crucial point is whether their body or appearance attracts people's attention or not. Hong, Seokcheon's horrid and not-strong body doesn't satisfy people. Here comes the logic of capitalistic commodity in Korea. That is, a potentially valuable body for a commercial market should be a women's body. In addition, if one has a perfect, beautiful figure that could be good for commodity, then the fact that s/he transgendered or not doesn't matter in Korea.