ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

This paper explores the continuing influence of eugenic discourse in contemporary South Korean society, arguing that eugenics persists in new forms through biopolitics, medical technologies, and cultural practices. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concepts of power-knowledge and biopolitics, the study analyzes how eugenic logic shapes policies, social norms, and individual choices by promoting ideals of normalcy, productivity, and genetic superiority. Tracing its roots from Japanese colonial rule to postwar modernization and neoliberal globalization, the paper examines how eugenics has been embedded in education, healthcare, and reproductive technologies. It also highlights how media, beauty culture, and prenatal genetic testing contribute to a cultural eugenics that pathologizes disability and difference. By engaging feminist and disability critiques, the paper reveals how contemporary biopolitics subtly enforces social hierarchies under the guise of choice and responsibility. Ultimately, it calls for an inclusive ethics that affirms the value of all lives beyond genetic, aesthetic, or economic standards.

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