@article{ART003260639},
author={Koo, Ja Jun},
title={The Aspects and Significance of Heterosexual Romance in the Webtoon Whale Star},
journal={Journal of Popular Narrative},
issn={1738-3188},
year={2025},
volume={31},
number={3},
pages={13-42}
TY - JOUR
AU - Koo, Ja Jun
TI - The Aspects and Significance of Heterosexual Romance in the Webtoon Whale Star
JO - Journal of Popular Narrative
PY - 2025
VL - 31
IS - 3
PB - The Association of Popular Narrative
SP - 13
EP - 42
SN - 1738-3188
AB - This study analyzes the relationship between heterosexual romance and nation/gender as represented in the webtoon Whale Star (Goraebyeol), in order to examine the characteristics and limitations of heterosexual romance narratives set in colonial Seoul (Gyeongseong). In doing so, it considers whether the conventional patterns of heterosexual romance often depicted in films and dramas set in Gyeongseong are also reproduced in webtoons. Furthermore, by situating Whale Star within the intertextual network of other works set in Gyeongseong, this paper seeks to broaden the horizon of interpretation regarding the webtoon’s portrayal of romance.
Chapter 2 reviews the significance of the concept of “colonial romance” as a masterplot of heterosexual romance in colonial Seoul and discusses how Whale Star may be examined within this framework. Chapters 3 and 4 analyze the spatial transitions and narrative development of romance in the webtoon, focusing on how it reworks the “colonial romance.” Chapter 5 critically examines the motif of “The Little Mermaid,” arguing that Whale Star’s heterosexual romance reinforces the coupling of women and the nation based on a binary gender perception.
At the same time, however, while the webtoon reiterates the typical gender dynamics of “colonial romance,” it also interrogates why women devoted themselves to Chosŏn, highlighting the impossibility of portraying “woman as Chosŏn” as a seamless, homogeneous entity. The webtoon’s strength lies in its nuanced depiction of the female subject’s transformation through love—something rarely observed in conventional “colonial romance.” Yet, insofar as the mermaid motif frames heterosexual romance as the female protagonist’s noble sacrifice for the greater cause of the nation, the webtoon ultimately reaffirms the enduring association between women and Chosŏn in heterosexual romances set in Gyeongseong.
KW - Whale Star;Gyeongseong;colonial romance;webtoon;heterosexual romance;Little Mermaid motif
DO -
UR -
ER -
Koo, Ja Jun. (2025). The Aspects and Significance of Heterosexual Romance in the Webtoon Whale Star. Journal of Popular Narrative, 31(3), 13-42.
Koo, Ja Jun. 2025, "The Aspects and Significance of Heterosexual Romance in the Webtoon Whale Star", Journal of Popular Narrative, vol.31, no.3 pp.13-42.
Koo, Ja Jun "The Aspects and Significance of Heterosexual Romance in the Webtoon Whale Star" Journal of Popular Narrative 31.3 pp.13-42 (2025) : 13.
Koo, Ja Jun. The Aspects and Significance of Heterosexual Romance in the Webtoon Whale Star. 2025; 31(3), 13-42.
Koo, Ja Jun. "The Aspects and Significance of Heterosexual Romance in the Webtoon Whale Star" Journal of Popular Narrative 31, no.3 (2025) : 13-42.
Koo, Ja Jun. The Aspects and Significance of Heterosexual Romance in the Webtoon Whale Star. Journal of Popular Narrative, 31(3), 13-42.
Koo, Ja Jun. The Aspects and Significance of Heterosexual Romance in the Webtoon Whale Star. Journal of Popular Narrative. 2025; 31(3) 13-42.
Koo, Ja Jun. The Aspects and Significance of Heterosexual Romance in the Webtoon Whale Star. 2025; 31(3), 13-42.
Koo, Ja Jun. "The Aspects and Significance of Heterosexual Romance in the Webtoon Whale Star" Journal of Popular Narrative 31, no.3 (2025) : 13-42.
