The Salimist: A Comparative Study of the Postmodern Feminine (and perhaps Feminist) Subject beyond Liberal Humanism.

This study examines how, despite the achievements of women’s liberation in Korean society, confrontational feminism has paradoxically reinforced patriarchal sexist codes. It critically analyzes the gendered ontological and epistemological foundations of the liberal humanist subject, inherited by confrontational feminism and proposes an alternative feminine subject marginalized by both patriarchy and feminism. Engaging with the Presidential theme, it interrogates the liberal humanist notion of freedom, presenting instead a subversive conception of it rooted in our feminine subjectivity, i.e., freedom from–not of–the ego. Central to this discussion is salim, a Korean homonym meaning household labor and “life-giving.” Drawing from Laozi, Nietzsche, Levinas, Deleuze, and Byung-Chul Han, this study will explore how their ideas mutually enrich one another, ultimately conceptualizing salim, in a multifaceted way, as a model of postmodern feminine subjectivity—the Salimist. Finally, the works of Korean female artists will be analyzed as aesthetic manifestations of the Salimist.