KJCKorea
Journal Central

This study aims to capture the multifaceted aspects of non-hegemonic masculinity represented in male-oriented web novels and to examine the characteristics and social implications of subjects who come to acquire new forms of legitimacy. To this end, the study conducts a comparative analysis of two hero narratives serialized ten years apart—<Overgeared> and <The Tower Strategy of a Loser Man> (hereafter <Ha-namja>)—featuring protagonists with non-hegemonic masculinity. The analysis focuses on three dimensions: (1) perceptions of labor and achievement, (2) the position of heterosexual intimacy, and (3) forms of homosocial bonding. The findings show that the protagonist of <Overgeared> exemplifies a “complicit-marginal masculinity” that seeks upward mobility toward hegemonic masculinity by presupposing the causal link between effort, achievement, and intimacy. Here, intimacy functions as a reward for achievement, while male bonding takes the form of bromance grounded in a secure heterosexual framework. In contrast, the protagonist of <Ha-namja> exhibits a “transformed marginal masculinity” that disengages from hegemonic competition, prioritizing risk aversion and efficiency under conditions of uncertainty. Intersecting with financial-capitalist rationality, this orientation constructs new masculine boundaries through the suspension of intimacy and the formation of strategic, network-based relationships. This study redefines this phenomenon as a ‘marginalized masculinity that intersects with the rationality of financial capitalism to transform the modes of gender discrimination’. These shifts suggest that, in a context where the normative authority of hegemonic masculinity is weakening, young men are exploring alternative ways of living through cynical disengagement and risk management.

Non-hegemonic masculinity, Transformed masculinity, Male-oriented web novels, Labor and achievement, Intimacy, Homosociality