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Abstract

The film JUNG_E (2023), a South Korean film by Yeon Sang-ho, presents a distinctive representation of motherhood through the transformation of the maternal body into a posthuman entity. This study aims to analyze how maternal identity is constructed, weakened, and instrumentalized through technology within the context of future capitalism and militarism. Employing a qualitative-descriptive approach, the research examines the separation of the biological body, memory, and maternal affect as they are reconstituted in the form of artificial intelligence.

The theoretical framework integrates concepts of performativity and precarity/vulnerability proposed by Judith Butler, feminist posthumanism by Rosi Braidotti, affect theory by Silvan Tomkins, as well as Korean sinpa studies, to explore how maternal suffering, sacrifice, and emotional depth between mother and child are exploited through melodramatic structures and science fiction narratives.

The analysis reveals that motherhood in JUNG_E is no longer positioned as an ethical relationship but rather as an affective resource that is systematically exploited. Maternal affect is programmed, commodified, and detached from the autonomy of the maternal subject, thereby exposing an ethical crisis of motherhood in the posthuman era. This study argues that JUNG_E does not celebrate posthumanism; instead, it offers a feminist critique of the exploitation of maternal bodies and emotions by technology, the state, and the logic of capitalism.

References

Bordwell, D., & Thompson, K. (2013). Film art: An introduction (10th ed.). USA: McGraw-Hill.

Braidotti, Rosi. (2013). The Posthuman. UK: Polity Press.

Butler, Judith. (1990). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.

Butler, Judith. (2006). Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence. New York: Verso.

Creswell, J.W. (2013). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. 4th Edition. London: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Seo, Euis-seok. (2023). “한국 SF 영화 속 인공지능 캐릭터에 재현된 타자화된 표상들: 영화를 중심으로(Otherized Representation Reproduced in Artificial Intelligence Characters in Korean Science Fiction Films: Focusing on the Movie ”, 영화문화지평연구소, Vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 67 – 101.

Kim, Gong-suk. (2025). “넷플릭스 K-콘텐츠의 신파성: 영화(JUNG_E)>를 중심으로 (Sinpa in K-Content on Netflix: Focusing on the Movie )”, CoFiS, Vol. 21, no. 1, 통권 54 호 pp. 9 – 36.

Hochschild, Arlie. (1983). The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling. Oakland: University of California Press.

Stam, Robert. (2000). Film Theory: An Introduction. USA: Blackwell Publishing.

Sulastri, Euis. (2025). A Comparative Study of Maternal Identity Representations in South Korean and Indonesian Films of the 2000s (Disertasi). Yonsei University, South Korea.

Tomkins, Silvan. (1962). Affect Imagery Consciousness: Volume I — The Positive Affects. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Park, Wook-ju. (2023). “넷플릭스 속 과학기술, 기독교 관점에서 본다면”,

https://www.christiantoday.co.kr/news/352717.

Yeon, Sang-ho. (2023). Jung E [Film]. South Korea: Climax Studio.

Bahasa Abstract

Film JUNG_E (2023) merupakan film Korea Selatan karya Yeon Sang-ho yang menghadirkan representasi keibuan yang unik melalui perubahan tubuh ibu menjadi entitas pascamanusia (posthuman). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis bagaimana identitas keibuan dibentuk, dilemahkan, dan dimanfaatkan melalui teknologi dalam konteks kapitalisme dan militerisme masa depan. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif-deskriptif, penelitian ini mengkaji pemisahan antara tubuh biologis, memori, dan afeksi keibuan yang diciptakan ulang dalam bentuk kecerdasan buatan. Landasan teoretis penelitian ini memadukan konsep performativitas dan prekaritas/kerentanan (Judith Butler), posthumanisme feminis (Rosi Braidotti), teori afek (Silvan Tomkins), serta kajian sinpa Korea untuk membaca bagaimana penderitaan, pengorbanan, dan pendalaman emosi ibu dan anak dimanfaatkan melalui struktur melodramatik dan fiksi ilmiah. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa keibuan dalam JUNG_E tidak lagi diposisikan sebagai relasi etis, melainkan sebagai sumber daya afektif yang dieksploitasi secara terstruktur. Afeksi keibuan diprogram, dikomodifikasi, dan dilepaskan dari otonomi subjek ibu, sehingga memperlihatkan krisis etis keibuan dalam era posthuman. Penelitian ini menegaskan bahwa JUNG_E tidak merayakan posthumanisme, melainkan menghadirkan kritik feminis terhadap eksploitasi tubuh dan emosi ibu oleh teknologi, negara, dan logika kapitalisme.

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