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The Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of the Web Novel Be A Light in the Dark Sea - From Failed Utopia to Anti-Dystopia

  • Journal of Popular Narrative
  • 2025, 31(3), pp.453~487
  • Publisher : The Association of Popular Narrative
  • Research Area : Interdisciplinary Studies > Interdisciplinary Research
  • Received : August 29, 2025
  • Accepted : October 20, 2025
  • Published : October 31, 2025

Jung Yoon Young 1

1유한대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study aims to analyze the distinctive temporality and spatiality of the popular Korean web novel Be A Light in the Dark Sea (hereafter LDS), demonstrating how these narrative dimensions are closely interlinked with the characters’ psychological development and the work’s overarching thematic consciousness. The spatiotemporal background of LDS) exerts a profound influence on the narrative as a whole, comparable in significance to Mikhail Bakhtin’s concept of the chronotope. Accordingly, this paper identifies within LDS) a peculiar configuration of time and space that differentiates it from the conventional “regression” narratives frequently found in contemporary web fiction. Specifically, the work’s nonlinear temporality—often referred to as a “time loop”—does not serve as a mechanism for the protagonist’s empowerment or for improving his external circumstances. Instead, as he repeatedly dies and comes back to life, he gradually expands his understanding of both the physical structure of the deep-sea base, located 3,000 meters below sea level, and the people who inhabit it. As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that escaping the deep-sea base is impossible without first exploring and comprehending it. For readers, the protagonist’s perilous exploration ultimately functions as a cognitive mapping of our own “failed utopia,” the here-and-now of lived reality. This interpretive trajectory resonates with Fredric Jameson’s notion of cognitive mapping, a quintessential political act through which the individual struggles to overcome the disorientation and loss of bearings characteristic of postmodern society. On this basis, the paper argues that LDS) represents a significant accomplishment in both the narrative experimentation of Korean web literature and the formation of contemporary discourse grounded in an acute sense of the present moment. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that the novel’s “regression” motif should not be understood as a mere adoption of a popular narrative device, but rather as an effective structuring principle that reinforces the work’s thematic vision. The paper concludes by emphasizing the scholarly importance of this analysis as a rare and substantive work-centered study—one that contributes to filling the critical gap in current research on Korean web novels.

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