Cultural Resistance and Gender Dynamics: A Vegetarian Ecofeminist Reading of The Vegetarian by Han Kang.

Meat is considered an integral part of Korean culture, and anyone who diverges from this dietary regimen is often labelled as abnormal or insane. The novel, The Vegetarian, by Han Kang, delves into how the predominant meat-centric culture of South Korea marginalises vegetarians, particularly women who choose a vegetarian lifestyle. The protagonist of the novel, Yeong Hye, during her transformation into a vegetarian, resists the patriarchal pressures that seek to establish the practice of meat consumption as a dominant cultural norm. This paper analyses the novel, The Vegetarian, through the critical lens of the Vegetarian Ecofeminism theory formulated by Carol J. Adams. Adams establishes a connection between vegetarianism and the life of women in her theory relating to her social environment, The Sexual Politics of Meat. She argues that there is association of meat consumption with masculinity, and how women in patriarchal western societies are often expected to cook meat in accordance with the dietary demands of their husbands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]