Jeeyoung Shin's Male Homosexaulity in the King and the Clown Hybrid Construction and Contested Meanings is found in the 18th Volume of the Journal of Korean Studies and is available for free through Google Books. Here is the abstract:


One point that resonated was how much the The King and the Clown deviated from the original play, arguing that "[t]he play deconstructs stereotypes of gender and (homo)sexuality by exposing a certain disparity between the off-stage Konggil, an ambitious and powerful gay court jester, and his feminine theatrical roles onstage. In contrast, the film's Konggil embodies a gay stereotype as an effeminate man." Indeed, homosexuality in the film was heterosexualized, with the king playing a masculine role and Konggil femininized.

I also enjoyed the discussion of a forum that was held to discuss the surge in queer films after the release of The King and the Clown. Critic Pak Chinhyong "argued that the enthusiasm the film induced for kkonminam, influenced by the largely teenage girls' subculture yaoi, is a condemnation of South Korean gay men, and that the local gay community resists the subsequent stereotyping of gay men as yeppun namja (pretty men)". Other critics pointed out that while the depictions may be a bit off, in the long run the popularity of the film could improve gay rights.