본문 바로가기
  • Home
Basic Search

Neoliberal Time Travel: Quantified Life and Regression Narrative in Reborn Rich

  • Journal of Popular Narrative
  • 2026, 32(2), pp.515~547
  • DOI : 10.18856/jpn.2026.32.2.014
  • Publisher : The Association of Popular Narrative
  • Research Area : Interdisciplinary Studies > Interdisciplinary Research
  • Received : April 30, 2026
  • Accepted : June 18, 2026
  • Published : June 30, 2026

Lee, Hyo-Jeong 1

1세종대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study aims to interpret the “regression” (transmigration back in time) motif—which has recently established itself as a representative narrative technique in webfiction—as a specific form of time-travel narrative that reflects the neoliberal era. It analyzes how the compulsive desires of individuals, internalized under neoliberal governmentality, are expressed through the narrative structure of a “second life” in which they relive a life they “already know.” Under neoliberalism, an individual is regarded as an “entrepreneurial self” who treats oneself as human capital and manages oneself to maximize profits within the market. Peter Miller and Nikolas Rose argue that the core mechanism and technological foundation of this self-management lie in quantification that renders human existence visible, calculable, and measurable. From this perspective, Reborn Rich offers a particularly revealing example of neoliberal governmentality at work. The protagonist approaches life as a carefully managed portfolio, reorganizes social relationships according to principles of efficiency, and continually validates his success through measurable outcomes. Behind such practices of quantification lies a desire to render the future predictable and controllable. Drawing on Elena Esposito’s conceptual framework, this paper analyzes how this novel gives narrative form to this desire—specifically, the process by which the protagonist uses privileged knowledge of the future to align the “present future” with the “future present.” In so doing, the paper argues that time-travel narratives dramatically embody the desires and anxieties of the neoliberal subject, who seeks to perfectly manage even the adventures of an uncertain future. This article is significant in that it interprets the popular boom of regression narratives not merely as a generic trend, but as expressive of a distinctive affective structure of the neoliberal era, in which the open possibility of the future is perceived through fear of uncertainty. Through this, it offers a case study showing how popular narrative mediates between the governmentality of an era and the collective consciousness.

Statistics

  • 5 Viewed
  • 0 Downloaded

Tools

Issue List

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2024 are currently being built.

Basic Search Advanced Search