SaBangJi who was the salve committed adultery with a widow who was
noble woman called Madam Lee. In Joseon Dynasty, adultery between a novel
woman and a slave suffered the capital punishment, but in case of SaBangJi,
the Royal Court discussed ways to decide his sex and to interpret the meaning
of his sexual behaviour, because he had dressed up as a woman. In this thesis
I studied the sexual politics of SaBangJi scandal. He was avoided punishment
by the King Sejo’s favor, that probably caused by adulterer Madam Lee’s lobby.
Through the process of re-establish the value of morality after this scandal,
I also investigated how the women’s desire had been excluded.
in Joseon, cross-dresser and adultery were serious crime on no condition.
But the King Sejo made the SaBangJi’s body as the other, then judged as a
true hermaphrodite, finally defined he is not human-being. It is to maintain
the patriarchal order by removing the man whose behavior dose not seem
like a ‘real man’. SaBangJi was determined not human being, so the women’s
behavior towards him must be interpreted as a fetish about sexual thing. In
15th century, we can find women who expressed her sexual desire actively
through SaBangJi scandal. It should arouse male overlord’s attention to
strengthen sexual norm for the patriarchal rule in Joseon Dynasty.