Earticle

Snailshells and discarded aluminium based alloys have low economic values and are mostly considered as environmental pollutants. However, recycling them for further application in material processing can create significant economic value. Snailshell particles are known for their hardness, and thus useful as good alloying element for aluminium based pistons. In this paper, the potential of snailshell particles as reinforcement agent in Al/snailshell particulate composites is reported. Snailshell particles of weight fraction ranging from 16 to 48 wt.% and size of 200, 400 and 600 μm were added to aluminium obtained from discarded aluminum pistons during casting. The microstructures of the composites were examined under optical metallurgical microscope. The tensile strength and hardness were measured based on the experiments conducted using Box Behnken design. The results showed that, at 48 wt.% and 600 μm particle size, the tensile strength and hardness are maximum (236 MPa and 48.3 HRF, respectively) compared to the tensile strength of 92.4 MPa and hardness of 29.2 HRF for the unalloyed samples. These increments are attributed to the uniform distribution of snailshells in the ductile aluminum matrix. It is concluded that both the tensile strength and hardness are significantly enhanced, and snailshells can be used as a low-cost reinforcement for engineering applications.

본고는 <우렁각시> 설화를 현대적으로 재해석한 소설 <나의 우렁 총각 이야기>와 웹툰 <우렁각시>를 대상으로 우렁각시 변용 양상과 남녀 관계의 변화를 살펴본 것이다. 설화에서 우렁각시는 남성의 욕망이 투사된 현모양처로 나타난다. 이에 비해서 소설 <나의 우렁 총각 이야기>에서는 ‘인간 여성-우렁총각’이 등장하고, 우렁총각은 인간에 의해서 매매 가능한 상품으로 형상화되었다. 이 작품에서는 자본을 소유한 여성이 이물 남성을 통제하는 ‘여성 가부장’으로 나타난다. 이것은 <우렁각시>의 남녀 관계를 전복하는 방식이지만, 여성의 ‘가부장되기’ 욕망이 드러난다는 측면에서는 기존의 위계적 남녀 관계가 반복되는 것이다. 이 소설의 남녀 관계는 여성이 주도권을 가진다는 점에서는 일정한 의의가 있지만, ‘인간 여성-이물 남성’의 위계적 관계가 반복되는 것은 여성의 욕망과 가부장적 질서가 자본을 매개로 타협한 것이라 할 수 있다. 웹툰 <우렁각시>에서는 여주인공과 우렁각시를 동성애적 관계로 설정하였다. 이 작품의 동성애적 요소는 이성애에 대한 대항 담론 방식으로 나타나지 않는다. 동성애적 요소는 새로운 방식의 커플 설정, 즉 기존과 다른 독특한 남녀 관계를 설정하는 요소로 작동하고 있다. 우렁각시는 여성 연인을 욕망하는 것이 아니라 서방님, 즉 가부장을 욕망한다. 여주인공과 우렁각시는 대등한 동성 연인이 아니라 ‘인간 가부장-이물 현모양처’의 관계를 반복한다. 인간 가부장의 성별이 여성으로 변화하였지만, 본질적으로 가부장적 위계가 작동하고 있는 것이다. 소설과 웹툰은 모두 과거의 가부장적 남녀 관계와 젠더 위계를 전복하고자 한다. 그러나 소설에 나타난 여성의 ‘가부장되기’와 웹툰의 가부장적 위계 반복은 가부장제의 한계를 완전히 극복하지 못하고, 여성의 욕망과 기존 질서가 타협하고 있음을 보여준다.

This paper examines the dynamics and meanings of changing gender relationships as depicted in two modern reinterpretations of the folktale “Wooreonggaksi” (Snail Bride): the novel The Story of My Bachelor in a Shell?and the webtoon “Wooreonggaksi,”?with a?focus on how these works transform Wooreonggaksi’s character?to challenge and compromise the gender hierarchy. In the novel The Story of My Bachelor in a Shell, unlike the folktale “Wooreonggaksi”?where?Wooreonggaksi?appears, a “Wooreong Bachelor”?is introduced. In the novel, the Wooreong Bachelor is portrayed as an?otherworldly?male?who?can be purchased by humans. At the same time, the human woman establishes a hierarchical relationship with the Wooreong Bachelor as?a?“human-other.”?As a consumer of capitalist goods, the human woman occupies a superior position to the purchasable Wooreong Bachelor. This portrayal of the woman as superior might be interpreted as subverting gender hierarchies, but it actually repeats the relationship between the one who holds superior status and the other?who is objectified. Therefore, this novel shows a compromise that becomes part of the order it attempts to subvert, rather than presenting an alternative world. The webtoon “Wooreonggaksi”?establishes a homosexual relationship between the female protagonist and Wooreonggaksi. However, the homosexual element of?the webtoon does not pose?resistance to or critique?heterosexuality, but functions?merely as a tool to establish?character relationships. The college student Dami and Wooreonggaksi are not in an equal relationship, as Wooreonggaksi serves Dami as her “husband,”?which evokes a patriarchal relationship of superior and subordinate rather than constructing an equal homosexual family relationship between a human and Wooreonggaksi. Although there is a homosexual element, the hierarchical family relationship formed between the human woman and Wooreonggaksi can be seen as maintaining the signifier of the “father”?while concealing it. Both the novel and webtoon attempt to subvert traditional gender roles and the institutions of the past. However, the gender role reversal in the novel and ambiguous homosexual elements in the webtoon do not achieve true subversion. Instead, they fail to?completely?overcome the limitations of patriarchy and end up repeating existing systems.