KJC Korea
Journal Central

Is a city a technology? This study begins with the hypothesis that interesting insights can be obtained by comparing studies on technology and those on the city. Although technology and the city cannot be identified directly, one can find fresh ideas from applying respective ideas to each other based on their commonalities and connections. For example, various proposals and alternatives presented in urban studies regarding the future of the city lead to rethinking the subject of technological philosophy from a new perspective. After examining definitions of technology and the city in Section 1, Section 2 lists the features commonly presented in the philosophy of technology and urban studies. Section 3 reveals that even if one does not identify technologies and cities, there are reasons to compare the philosophy of technology and urban studies. Section 4 is a case study arguing Senet's idea of smart cities suggests a slightly different new path to the long-standing discussion in the philosophy of technology concerning pessimism, optimism, and control over the future of technology and technological society.

This study examines the gap between the idea of a "future city" and the reality that was advocated during the construction of Sewoon Shopping Center in Seoul in 1966. The construction of Sewoon Shopping Center, which was carried out as a "meeting" between Seoul Mayor Kim Hyun-ok and architect Kim Soo-geun, was linked to the city's urban development and at the same time to the exhibition effect on "economic development" advocated by the Park Chung-hee Administration. The words that modify Sewoon Shopping Center, which is a building with the largest, world's best, and advanced facilities, were also used in the Presidential election that followed the achievements of the Park Chung-hee regime's "modernization" at the time of its construction. However, the 'future' spatial characteristics of Sewoon Shopping Center, such as public walking decks, separation of pedestrians and cars, public gardens, and future schools, which were presented at the beginning of its construction, were transformed, abandoned, and became different spaces whenever faced with political, economic, and practical problems.

This study examines the disaster narratives that appeared in Korean literature around the 2010s and reveals the new posthumanistic sensitivity that appeared in these narratives. From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, many apocalyptic narratives dealing with disasters were created in Korean literature and popular culture. However, the disaster narratives of that period are filled with signs of despair and destruction for mankind, which have been foretold the end of the world. In recent Korean novels released around 2010, the disaster narratives have begun to change significantly. Among them, some writers have shown more dramatic changes and revealed new sensitivities to the end of history. These writers faithfully inherit the traditions of existing disaster narratives and the customs of the SF genre and deal with various global disasters that humanity will face. New disaster narratives reveal posthumanistic sensitivity by presenting new civilizations in which humans coexist with non-human beings.

After March 11, 2011, under the recognition that this complex disaster greatly changed Japanese society, many writers discussed “post3.11 literature”. In this paper, in order to ask who could be the proper one to remember this disaster and mourn the death caused by it, I analyzed two literary works that summon people who have gone missing due to the tsunami as ghost. Maru Ayase's One day, You will Reach the Sea begins with the guilt of the survivor, and deals with the ultimate otherness of death. Also, by letting the character who has already died speak as ‘I’, its readers can realize the weight of each death. Mai Ishizawa's At the place following the shell asks questions about the multi-level distance between the people who survived and the Earthquake. In this novel set in Germany, the ghost of the dead bring back memories of the past, followed by Covid-19 pandemic, tsunami, wars etc. Through these works, readers can experience the loss and pain caused by the tsunami and get an opportunity to participate in the work of mourning. Also, these works, asking how we can participate in deaths other than tsunami, provide a clue to remember and grieve other pains.

This article aims to analyze the railway mobility shown in 『North Korean Writers' Fiction Collection of Railroad Stories-From Wonsan to Cheorwon』(2020) and 『North Korean Writers' Fiction Collection of Railroad Stories 2- From Sinuiju to Gaesong』(2021), to examine how the mobile transportation system, and surrounding contemporary political and economic situation caused the residents to execute the movement practice. In particular, by bringing North Korean residents' political and economic practices unfolded along railway stations positioned at politically significant places or border trade cities into focus, this article demonstrates the mobility abilities of North Korean citizens who have complied with the disciplines of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea but also shown dynamics that transcend governance from various angles. This movement of residents needs to be treated as important in terms of creating cracks in the closed agent-connection network that has been the bedrock of North Korea's governance and, furthermore, redefining the geography around the railway line and leading to North Korean defections.

The Happiness of Kati by Ngarmpun Vejjajiva is a story about a 9-year-old girl, Kati, born between a Thai mother and a Burmese father. This study focuses on the representation of trauma and nature-friendly environment in this work. Kati's mother is a patient with Lou Gehrig's disease, a five-year deadline. Kati, who lives with her maternal grandparents in Ayutthaya, Thailand, suffers from a woman's shout when it rains and thunders. Kati's mother meets Kati when her death is imminent and tells Kati about the incident that she had to leave Kati. Kati is suffering from this trauma because of the incident. Kati decides not to meet her father in England after her mother's death. According to the paternal lineage, Kati, who is from Burma, is not bound by this origin and chooses to continue living with her maternal grandparents. Because in a naturefriendly environment suitable for a subtropical climate, Kati has developed a caring mind in daily life to help her maternal grandmother's housework, and admires her maternal grandfather's dedication to others.