This article examines the connotation of meat in Kang Han`s "Vegetarian" and addresses its connection with male violence and female resistance. First, it explores the family relationships, specifically, of father-daughter and husband-wife within the Korean sociocultural context. Second, the meaning of meat is explicated within the parameters of patriarchal culture, which is employed as a useful framework that documents the origins of gender dichotomies in Korea. Third and most importantly, this paper elucidates the cultural messages written on Young-hye`s body through the process of detecting male violence in the text and by focusing on the heroine`s performance. The last scene of "Vegetarian" presents the most explicit and powerful protest through the protagonist`s body and its language. By crossing and re-crossing the boundary of meateater and vegetarian, Young-hye`s body paralyzes the system of patriarchy and demolishes the hierarchical gender dichotomy; furthermore, it envisions the possibility of a new paradigm, the horizontal partnership between male and female.