Abstracts

Korean classical pansori, a composite form of literature, music, and theater, has a diverse and extensive history of transformation into modern media (re-mediation). It is interesting, both academically and popularly, to explore the contemporary content (texts) that has resulted. This talk will present a brief guideline for navigating that landscape through four examples. Chunhyang Dyeon, Sin Chunhyang Dyeon, and Bangja Jeon, based on the classic Chunhyang Jeon, demonstrate the evolution of transmedia storytelling by adapting the format or narrative. Bum Comes Down shows how to captivate a global audience through dance (body), music (rhythm, song), and literature (story).

This presentation analyzes the narrative structure and semantic network surrounding the birth and death of the monster in the classical Korean novel Bulgasali Jeon. The work was recreated in 1921 by Byeong-ju Hyun, based on a tale from the Goryeo Dynasty. The author brought to life a guardian monster called “Bulgasali” drawing on emotions and imagination rooted in folk beliefs. 

A notable element is the motif of Korean alphabet origins depicted in the novel, where the monster’s remains — a piece of iron — had “Hangul (Korean alphabet)” inscribed on it. This shows clear connections to the Greek myth of Cadmus. Both myths share the traveler motif and the origin of writing systems from external sources. Just as Cadmus delivered the alphabet to Greece, Bulgasali serves as the medium that brings Hangul to Joseon. 

Byeong-ju Hyun employs sophisticated wordplay utilizing the characteristics of the Korean language. This wordplay creates humor through homophones — words that sound the same but have different meanings. Such linguistic play was possible in Korean due to the existence of Chinese characters that clearly distinguish meanings. Through this, the author effectively demonstrates that language is not a singular entity but a system with complex attributes. 

This linguistic perspective differs from the approach of many intellectuals of the time who emphasized the uniqueness of their native language by othering Chinese characters. The linguistic sensibility in Bulgasali Jeon carefully considers the reception patterns of the lower classes — farmers and workers — who were more familiar with spoken language than written language. This suggests the author's attempt to capture the linguistic reality and sensibilities of the public through literary experimentation.

In Japan, Researchers such as Sakurai Miki have long discussed the hybridity and negotiations between oral and written traditions within modern print media. In 2023, The Folklore of Reading and Writing by Watanabe Keiichi and The History of Reading and Writing in Japan by Yakuwa Tomohiro were published. East Asia has sustained a long-standing literary culture, which remains robust even in today’s smartphone era, despite claims of a growing disconnect from print media. However, even today, some oral literature scholars have not entirely abandoned the notion of a “pure orality” that exists apart from modern media. This perspective may have significantly influenced both oral narrators and folktale authors.

This presentation aims to critically analyze the process of reinterpretation undertaken by Lee Geum-ok (1929–2019), renowned for her folktale Three-Year Hill, in response to the pressure of Japan’s notion of “pure orality.” Additionally, it will reflect on the history of nationalistic misreadings in both North and South Korea, as well as Japan.

This study focuses on the widespread use of the term “hyomyo” in the internet, which connects cats with filial piety (hyo), to understand the changing perceptions of filial piety in Korea. Filial piety has historically held an important place in Korean society, but both the category of family and the ethics surrounding the practice of filial piety have changed significantly compared to traditional society. The phenomenon of cats being referred to as “hyomyo” provides evidence regarding the place of Confucianism and the changing perception of Confucianism in contemporary Korean society. Therefore, this study collects statements related to “hyomyo,” categorizes them into honor, affection, support, and success, and analyzes specific instances to understand the existence of “hyomyo.”

While reading a novel, readers engage with its story world, crossing the boundaries between reality and fiction as they immerse themselves in the narrative. A novel’s story world draws readers in through meticulous descriptions, but at times, it fosters immersion by evoking a sense of connection between the fictional world and the reality in which readers live. This is no exception in late Joseon-period classical novels. These novels construct their story worlds using familiar elements such as real place names, geographical sites, and the living spaces of yangban households, making them feel more intimate to readers. Additionally, they vividly portray characters who actively navigate the story world, creating the illusion that readers themselves are stepping into the narrative.

This study explores how Korean classical novels build story worlds that blur the lines between reality and fiction and examines how immersive elements manifest within these narratives. Specifically, it investigates how Chunhyangjeon, one of the most representative Korean classical novels, transforms Namwon, a real geographical location, into a fictional story world. Furthermore, it examines how Korean classical novels enjoyed by yangban women go beyond simply conveying a storyline, instead enabling readers to directly experience the story world. This approach extends beyond viewing classical novels merely as reading material; it highlights their multidimensional narrative construction and explores their potential as a transmedia storytelling medium.

This article examines how two influential Korean musicals, Line 1 (1994) and Laundry (2005), engage with South Korea’s social transformation and urban development from the 1990s to the early 2000s. Both musicals function as powerful narrative vehicles for telling the story of Seoul’s transformation, confronting themes of discrimination, inequality, and economic polarization but employing distinct approaches in their treatment of history and memory. I demonstrate how these productions serve as crucial media for examining South Korea’s relationship with its recent past and also how their different approaches to nostalgia and social critique reflect broader cultural negotiations about remembering and representing periods of rapid social transformation.

This presentation explores the lives of trans photography as they traverse different archives, media, and interpretations, questioning what trans photography has done and could do in writing trans history in South Korea. During my archival and ethnographic research on the history of trans communities in South Korea, I encountered a wealth of trans photography. Countless photographs — featuring or captured by trans individuals — continue to emerge, challenging the widespread presumption that limited documentation hinders writing trans history.

As a trans scholar and a late member of an imagined multi-generational trans community in South Korea, I find that these photographs invite me to reflect critically on the connections between historiography and lived experience. My visceral emotional attachment to these photographs reshaped my methodological approach, prompting critical reflection on the intersections between trans historiography, photography, and archives. Drawing on discussions of photography readership and decolonial trans historiography, this presentation reflects on my experiences of searching, browsing, collecting, viewing, and taking trans photographs. It explores how my positionality as a viewer of photographs, archival researcher, scholar in higher education, and young trans individual shapes the possibilities and limitations of my practice of trans history writing with trans photographs.

How does trans photography inform and transform trans historiography? In what ways do contemporary scholars’ practices of engaging with trans photographs shape the contours of Korean trans historiography? How do these practices reiterate or disrupt existing power dynamics between the photographed, the photographer, and the viewer, ultimately creating unprecedented sites for writing trans history? This presentation argues that the act of reading trans photographs is not merely a retrospective engagement but a trans-temporal process of negotiating history, memory, and identity, advocating for new modes of practicing trans historiography grounded in connectivity within the community.

Amid mounting tensions between the United States and China and the ever-intensifying Cross-Strait relations, the people of Taiwan are increasingly aware that they may be losing the ability to determine their own fate. Taiwan, unrecognized as a sovereign state by much of the international community, fears that if it also loses its technological edge, it may forfeit the very community it has painstakingly fostered. Although the nation as a whole is devising various measures to prevent such an outcome, anxiety appears far from dispelled.

As Lacan once said, “anxiety isn’t about the loss of the object, but its presence. The objects aren’t missing (Seminar X).” Because of its inherent inscrutability, however, every attempt to suppress this anxiety inevitably fails. If it cannot be completely repressed, then one can only place something recognizable in the position of the anxiety’s object — however provisionally — and treat that as if it were the cause of one’s anxiety. This move is undoubtedly a misrecognition, yet it is also a powerful means of keeping anxiety somewhat at bay. Humanity has historically resorted to such methods to manage anxiety, and the post-apocalyptic narrative is no exception. Faced with the cataclysmic anxieties of ecological crisis, climate change, runaway scientific development, nuclear proliferation, and the specter of personal mortality, human beings have sought to contain these swirling fears by binding them within narrative form. After all, humanity persists, even in the aftermath of catastrophe, granting us the hope that “I” might survive — even after mass death.

Recent post-apocalyptic narratives emerging from Taiwan, however, present a slightly different emphasis. The world does not end; only Taiwan — that is, the Republic of China — collapses. For instance, in The Leopard Catgirl in Miaoli (2019), the space once occupied by Taiwan / the ROC is supplanted by small “nations,” local magnates, and religious groups. Similarly, in End of the Road (2024), the nuclear war that devastates Taiwan destroys the ROC, but from a global perspective, it is little more than a regional conflict, with other nations remaining intact. While post-apocalyptic narratives typically depict the world after the end of humanity, Taiwan’s post-apocalyptic works depict a scenario in which Taiwan’s existing order collapses and the seats of power are left vacant.

By focusing on these aspects, this study aims to explore the anxieties prevalent among the people of Taiwan today.

This presentation aims to analyze the widespread proliferation and transformation of subgenres such as the book traveler genre (commonly known as Chaek Bingyi Mul) in Korean webtoons and web novels and to clarify their significance. The book traveler genre refers to a category of works in which the author or reader of a novel becomes “possessed” by one of the characters in a specific web novel they were writing or reading. Upon entering the fictional world, the protagonist leverages their prior knowledge of the story and its plot to repeatedly make advantageous choices for their success and survival. In this process, the protagonist — whether an author or a reader — engages with the existing narrative world in various ways, either by utilizing or rejecting storytelling clichés, ultimately reshaping the story. In other words, the book traveler genre can be seen as a self-reflexive genre that fictionalizes the very process of renewing the media and narrative conventions of web novels.

What is particularly intriguing is that this subgenre has not only spread across various web novel genres but has also been frequently adapted into webtoons. Initially emerging in the early 2000s among fantasy readers who had absorbed elements of Mary Sue fan fiction, the book traveler genre became established as a subgenre within romance fantasy web novels in the mid-2010s, leading to its rapid proliferation. Furthermore, from the late 2010s onward, this trend extended to webtoons, particularly in webtoon adaptations of web novels.

Thus, this presentation will first review previous studies to examine why self-reflective genres like the book traveler genre have gained prominence in both webtoons and web novels. It will then analyze how subgenres formed around specific motifs transcend genre and narrative boundaries within digital storytelling, merging with other motifs and undergoing transformation.

Since its first premiering in Japan last year, The First Slam Dunk (TFSD) has created the global fandom, especially in East Asia. At first glance, its success seems to be rooted in its huge popularity in 1990s as Comics, Slam Dunk, as a number of mass media coverage tend to interpret the success of TFSD has been heavily influenced by so-called “retro boom,” which reflects the economic development of the East Asia and its nostalgia for old good days.

Against this kind of analyses, I argue that the continuing popularity of TFSD shows that its current popularity comes from successfully embracing young generations who come to know Slam Dunk through TFSD, rather than the original fandom in 1990s. I analyze the totally new characteristics of TFSD, while succeeding the legacy of the original comics, in three aspects: 1) incorporating 3D animation and 2D animation into a new level, 2) the potentiality of the new protagonist’s story, and 3) the emergence of global fandom beyond national and linguistic borders.

Especially I pay attention to the cultural politics in the process of construction and reconstruction of TFSD global fandom, involving a number of debates over copyright issues and cultural practices of each country’s fandom. By doing this, I aim to explore what kind of cultural borders has been created and recreated in the global fandom in the age of automatic translation and real-time SNS.

South Korea remains largely a homophobic society, although attitudes toward LGBTQ+ people have generally improved over the years. According to a 2023 survey, those who believe “homosexuality should not be accepted” (43%) outnumber those who believe “it should be accepted” (32%) by 11 percentage points. Furthermore, negative responses increased over the two years between 2021 and 2023, indicating a recent rise in intolerance toward sexual minorities (Lee, 2023). In this context, it may come as a surprise that Love in the Big City, the first queer film set in contemporary South Korea, received predominantly positive reviews following its release in 2024. The original novel had also been widely acclaimed, becoming a national bestseller after being longlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022.

How did the novel and its screen adaptation successfully gain mainstream recognition despite South Korea’s conservative norms? This study seeks to answer this question by examining their narrative structure, style, and techniques, arguing that these elements played a crucial role in shaping audience perceptions. Specifically, both the novel and the film are distinguished by unique characterization, fast-paced progression, wit, humor, and irony. Although a work of queer fiction, Love in the Big City balances the lead gay male character with an unconventional heterosexual female character, shifting some of the narrative focus away from him. The rapid progression, combined with a lighthearted approach, makes controversial topics feel breezy and casual while keeping the audience amused.

Notably, the driving force of the narrative is laughter, primarily provoked by irony. As Freud (1905) notes, laughter can serve as a mechanism for temporarily escaping or distracting individuals from their anxieties and stressors. Thus, this paper suggests that humor plays a key role in addressing the often taboo and repressed subject of homosexuality in a society with conservative values. It critically analyzes these narrative techniques, addressing their limitations in dealing with significant social issues, such as LGBTQ+ representation and rights.

This study compares the narrative strategies employed in the original novel and its film adaptation, shedding light on the distinct techniques used in literary and visual storytelling. Narrative can be broadly defined as “a chain of events linked by cause and effect and occurring in time and space,” but readers of fiction and film spectators approach these two media with different expectations (Bordwell, Thomson, & Smith, 2020, p. 73). While Christian Metz (1974) draws parallels between “film language” and verbal languages — such as a letter with a frame, a shot with a word, a sequence with a sentence, and a scene with a paragraph — he emphasizes that cinematic language has unique characteristics and operates differently from verbal communication. To adapt a literary work, a film must utilize distinct narrative devices. This paper examines these key storytelling differences through a comparative analysis.

Focusing on irony, this study investigates how it disrupts audience expectations in literary and visual narratives. Additionally, it explores the influence of visual media on literary storytelling, particularly the growing use of sudden, forced “scene transitions” within the same chapter. In South Korea, these transitions are often marked by an asterisk (*) between paragraphs to indicate shifts in topic, place, or time. This swift transition, akin to a cinematic fade-out and fade-in, has become more prevalent since the mid-2000s, likely influenced by films and dramas.

In summary, this study illuminates how Love in the Big City challenges South Korea’s societal norms. Emphasizing narrative techniques such as irony, humor, and fast-moving narrative, it highlights how these elements subvert audience expectations, making difficult topics more accessible. Through a comparative study of the novel and its cinematic version, this paper illustrates how narrative strategies contribute to the mainstream recognition of a queer story in a traditionally homophobic society, while acknowledging the limitations of these techniques in fully confronting the complexities of queer representation and rights. It also explores the influence of visual media on literary narrative, emphasizing how both forms engage audiences through distinct approaches.

According to Henry Jenkins, transmedia storytelling is driven by the industrial desire to maximize profits in the era of media convergence. However, it also fosters narrative synergy by expanding a story across multiple media, drawing on emotional engagement. In other words, transmedia storytelling contributes to the story world by sharing narrative elements while extending or annotating the existing narrative. Additionally, Jenkins highlights the “transmedia impulse,” which compels audiences to seek supplementary information about character relationships and complex plotlines across different media, as a defining feature of contemporary media convergence culture.

Building on this framework, this paper examines Extraordinary You (2019), a Korean television drama adapted from a webtoon, through the lens of technological and cultural transformations in the post-cinematic era. Webtoons, designed for digital platforms, break free from the constraints of traditional print comics by enabling unlimited page lengths, seamless image manipulation, and effortless reproduction. Notably, contemporary webtoons optimized for smartphones create a distinctive spatiotemporal experience through scrolling-based panel navigation. When adapted into television dramas and consumed via Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming services, their viewing modes are further transformed by digital media affordances such as playback speed control. Extraordinary You serves as a case study of how transmedia storytelling reflects post-cinematic aesthetics, demonstrating how digital technologies give rise to post-continuity dynamics.

The 2017 film, Microhabitat (Sogongnyŏ, 2017) is a Korean independent road movie directed, written, and produced by Jeon Gowoon (Chŏn Ko-un). In her debut feature filmed in 2016, Jeon crafted a darkly comedic female-centered film by portraying a caregiver in her early thirties. She dropped out of college when she was orphaned and has eventually become homeless. The narrative follows the protagonist, Mi-so, as she visits old college friends scattered around Seoul and its suburbs, seeking a temporary shelter and reconnecting with them. The film thus offers a satirical portrayal of how middle-class, college-educated South Koreans in their thirties navigate their lives with diligence and restlessness, yet without passion and vitality, as they struggle in the heated neoliberal rat-race of the 2010s. In this presentation, I would argue that Mi-so’s former bandmates and boyfriend, as subjects readily governmentalized by neoliberalism, are fully immersed in South Korea’s pervasive self-development culture.