“The King and the Statue” epitomizes science fiction where the narrative goes beyond the real realm and still suffices our imagination. While reading the story, I found an imaginary tale with a desire to be true. Hence, Minsoo Kang juxtaposes the fictional with reality using an extreme representation of an implausible reality. Thus, the King in his obsession with the statue wants to turn it into a bone and flesh: a real woman that satisfies all the needs of a man incapable to get enough, “the king was clearly in love with the thing itself, but it was not enough for him to gaze, caress and even lie with it. He desired it to become alive, but not, I believe so that it might simply become a living woman like the others in his realm whom he found unsatisfactory” (28). The parallelism with our class discussion is that unification between both countries along the peninsula requires pain and imperfection, despite the fantasy of a flawless transition. For instance, if the statue were the peninsula and the King symbolizes both presidents of Korea, namely, the North and the South. Then, to govern the country by either of the sides is a figment residing in the mind of both leaders: Park Geun-hye and King Jon-un. …show more content…
The marble figures, the silent woman and at the same time prostitute. She seduces and subdues the king into a world of fantasy where reality fades away. The real women, which is a metonymy for the common people of Korea. In other words, its citizens. Likewise, Miss DMZ is a feminine portrayal of the frontier between the nations, the Statue represents its people. Furthermore, investigating the relationship between female and perfection in the Korean culture can be an interesting topic for the class per se; whereas in the United States bravery and masculinity are more traditional when talking about the