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Aspects of Emotional Customs by the N-po Generation
Journal of Popular Narrative
2019, 25(1),
pp.55-85
DOI :10.18856/jpn.2019.25.1.002
Publisher : The Association of Popular Narrative
Research Area : Interdisciplinary Research
DOI :10.18856/jpn.2019.25.1.002
Publisher : The Association of Popular Narrative
Research Area : Interdisciplinary Research
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In this article, we examine the real meaning behind the stories in which the N-po Generation (Millennial Generation) is depicted, through the observation of entertainment programs, TV series, and movies. This could be an opportunity to investigate the aspects of emotional customs of our era, which have been described by television media as portraying the complex and multifaceted reality in the most mundane and popular manner while influencing the public. Problems with youth unemployment, the polarization of life, and instability are not only global issues but situations that specifically occur in South Korea. It is thus vital to pay attention to the inner side of the N-po Generation who enjoy Sohwakhaeng (small but certain happiness) by eating alone as the placebo effect of this tough reality. This is an agenda that should be viewed as a problem in the fundamental design of South Korean society. The consciousness of the problem shown in the TV series <Drinking Solo> has been drawing attention. The TV series Because <This is My First Life> depicts a love narrative that concentrates on emotions in a relationship that started between housemates due to poverty and housing problems, leading to marriage. Thus, the TV series persuasively dramatized ‘confluent love’ in the N-po Generation. In the movie <Microhabitat>, Miso can be regarded as a symbol that represents the emergence of a new generation of cultural sensitivity. There is a suggestion in the sequence of <Microhabitat> that identifies the pursuit of taste with the discovery of identity. The TV series <Hello, My Twenties!> is a growth narrative that deals heavily with youth unemployment, temporary workers, fragmented families, and dating violence. The housemates in <Hello, My Twenties!> find emotional stability through interaction with each other, and courageously approach their individual problems. In the process, images of women, who are empathetic towards others and are willing to jointly solve their problems, are calmly depicted to reveal a story of growth revolving around a ground emotional community. The current problem that South Korean society should contemplate is how to be fully human beyond mere survival, and how to further seek the conditions of human existence. In that sense, what we should pursue is a notion of ‘publicness’, which can put several generations together. Because of the reality that confliction between generations must be triggered, in order to make a passage of sympathizing, mass media’s sensitivity training becomes more important. This may be the duty of mass media.
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