Norm and Deviance: Some Considerations on Eroticism in Ancient Korea

This article explores the intersection of gender, power, and normative transgression in early medieval Korea through an analysis of historic chronicles (Samguk sagi) and anecdotal narratives (Samguk yusa). By examining cases involving queens, concubines, and female figures situated at the margins of legitimacy, the study interrogates the symbolic and political construction of gender deviance within the framework of dynastic ideology. Drawing on theoretical approaches from gender history and the anthropology of the gift, the article highlights how sexualized behaviors, jealousy, and bodily anomalies were inscribed into official discourse as mechanisms of exclusion or moral warning. Particular attention is paid to narrative strategies that blur the boundaries between hagiography, exemplarity, and historical record, revealing an underlying tension between patriarchal control and the disruptive agency of women. The study proposes that representations of ‘deviance’ served not only as focal points of moral tension, but also as narrative tools for negotiating dynastic crises and legitimizing succession. Through this lens, the article contributes to a more nuanced understanding of premodern Korean historiography and the gendered dynamics of its political imagination.