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A Study on the Identity Formation Process of Korean Fantasy Novels: Focusing on the Conflicts with the Literary Establishment and the Debate on ‘Fantasy’

  • Journal of Popular Narrative
  • 2024, 30(2), pp.505-540
  • DOI : 10.18856/jpn.2024.30.2.015
  • Publisher : The Association of Popular Narrative
  • Research Area : Interdisciplinary Studies > Interdisciplinary Research
  • Received : April 20, 2024
  • Accepted : June 18, 2024
  • Published : June 30, 2024

Choi HyeRyeong 1

1연세대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to examine the identity formation process of Korean fantasy novels from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. In particular, it analyzes how the conflicts and compromises between actors influenced the shaping of the genre identity of Korean fantasy novels during this period. In the late 1990s, Korean fantasy novels emerged in the PC communication space and grew centered around book rental stores. In this growth process, fantasy novels experienced conflicts with literary establishment. The literary establishment attempted to incorporate fantasy novels as subjects for guidance through the notion of "fantasy," while fantasy novel writers constructed counterarguments. The conflicts and compromises that took place in this process presented the discourse of "Korean-style fantasy" as the primary task for Korean fantasy novels. However, in the 2000s, fusion fantasies with other genres such as “Fan-hyeop-ji" and "Dimension-crossing fantasy" became mainstream instead of high fantasy. This result contradicted the belief that literary criticism could lead the success of works and genre conventions. In reality, the social evaluation of works, conditions for commercial success, and conditions for genre reproduction all differed. By examining the identity formation process of Korean fantasy novels through their contact with external actors, this study demonstrates that genre identity is not simply formed by the intentions of internal actors but dynamically changes through interactions with external actors, social, cultural, and economic factors.

Citation status

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