■ Bibliographic Information
- Author: Kim, Hong-Jung (Seoul National University)
- Journal: Society and Theory (Sahoe wa Iron), Vol. 52
- Date: November 2025
- Pages: pp. 83-124
■ Abstract
This paper conceptualizes the protagonist Yeong-hye in Han Kang's The Vegetarian (2007) as an 'epoch-traverser' and reflects on the sociological significance of this figure from the perspective of the symptomatology. The term epoch-traverser designates a subject of thought and practice that moves beyond the conditions of a given historical period into the time that follows, pioneering the enactment of values of the future that have not yet been realized.
On the basis of a close reading of The Vegetarian, this study explores in what sense Yeong-hye can be understood as an epoch-traverser through following five lines of inquiry. First, it analyzes the distinctiveness of The Vegetarian in contrast to the general ethical orientation of Han Kang's works, particularly in its stance toward life and death. Second, it examines the two dreams that trigger Yeong-hye's trajectory from the refusal of meat and resistance to patriarchy to her eventual becoming-tree, thereby illuminating her process of de-subjectivation. Third, it argues that once stripped of her given social identities and displaced beyond human subjectivity, Yeong-hye ultimately confronts the faces of the living beings she had consumed. Fourth, it interprets this flight from the human drawing on the Christian theological concept of kenosis, showing how Yeong-hye empties herself of her conferred humanity. Fifth, it investigates the spiritual implications of this kenosis of humanity within the conditions of the Anthropocene.
In conclusion, the paper argues that The Vegetarian prefigures emergent future values such as posthumanism and degrowth within 21th century Korean society and stands as a paradigmatic text that gives literary form to epoch-traversing subjectivity.
■ Key Words: Han Kang, The Vegetarian, epoch-traversing, symptomatology, kenosis, patiency, Anthropocene