@article{ART003401397},
author={JEON SEJIN},
title={The Father's Empty Seat- Narrative Strategy in Kim Eun-sook's Fantasy Dramas},
journal={Journal of Popular Narrative},
issn={1738-3188},
year={2026},
volume={32},
number={3},
pages={491-530},
doi={10.18856/jpn.2026.32.3.014}
TY - JOUR
AU - JEON SEJIN
TI - The Father's Empty Seat- Narrative Strategy in Kim Eun-sook's Fantasy Dramas
JO - Journal of Popular Narrative
PY - 2026
VL - 32
IS - 3
PB - The Association of Popular Narrative
SP - 491
EP - 530
SN - 1738-3188
AB - This study begins with an anomaly found in Kim Eun-sook’s drama filmography: her fantasy dramas almost never show a “father.” Since Secret Garden (2010), she has alternated between fantasy and non-fantasy works while maintaining a romance grammar in which lovers differ in class or ontological status. Yet the role of the father remains vacant or blurred in her fantasy productions. This study hypothesizes that this vacancy is not a chance omission but a narrative strategy for fantasy, and examines how it operates.
Reading the father, via Lacan’s “Name-of-the-Father,” as a “speaker of the law” who approves or prohibits love, this study compares the character configurations of Guardian: The Lonely and Great God–Goblin, the representative fantasy drama, and The Heirs, the representative non-fantasy drama.
In The Heirs, Chairman Kim (Kim Hoejang), the father of Kim Tan, alone approves and prohibits, so conflict centers on class and bloodline. In Goblin, every major character’s biological father is absent; the paternal function disperses among transcendent, maternal, and non-kin figures, conflict shifts to fate and mortality, and the voice questioning fantastic events weakens, securing plausibility. Unlike previous studies focused on fantasy devices, the Cinderella narrative, and male characters’ appeal, this study asks about the father’s place at the level of character configuration, and shows that paternal absence is a problem of genre, not only of character.
KW - Kim Eun-sook;Genealogy of Television Drama;Fantasy Drama;Narrative Strategy;Paternal Absence;Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (Goblin);The Heirs;Secret Garden
DO - 10.18856/jpn.2026.32.3.014
ER -
JEON SEJIN. (2026). The Father's Empty Seat- Narrative Strategy in Kim Eun-sook's Fantasy Dramas. Journal of Popular Narrative, 32(3), 491-530.
JEON SEJIN. 2026, "The Father's Empty Seat- Narrative Strategy in Kim Eun-sook's Fantasy Dramas", Journal of Popular Narrative, vol.32, no.3 pp.491-530. Available from: doi:10.18856/jpn.2026.32.3.014
JEON SEJIN "The Father's Empty Seat- Narrative Strategy in Kim Eun-sook's Fantasy Dramas" Journal of Popular Narrative 32.3 pp.491-530 (2026) : 491.
JEON SEJIN. The Father's Empty Seat- Narrative Strategy in Kim Eun-sook's Fantasy Dramas. 2026; 32(3), 491-530. Available from: doi:10.18856/jpn.2026.32.3.014
JEON SEJIN. "The Father's Empty Seat- Narrative Strategy in Kim Eun-sook's Fantasy Dramas" Journal of Popular Narrative 32, no.3 (2026) : 491-530.doi: 10.18856/jpn.2026.32.3.014
JEON SEJIN. The Father's Empty Seat- Narrative Strategy in Kim Eun-sook's Fantasy Dramas. Journal of Popular Narrative, 32(3), 491-530. doi: 10.18856/jpn.2026.32.3.014
JEON SEJIN. The Father's Empty Seat- Narrative Strategy in Kim Eun-sook's Fantasy Dramas. Journal of Popular Narrative. 2026; 32(3) 491-530. doi: 10.18856/jpn.2026.32.3.014
JEON SEJIN. The Father's Empty Seat- Narrative Strategy in Kim Eun-sook's Fantasy Dramas. 2026; 32(3), 491-530. Available from: doi:10.18856/jpn.2026.32.3.014
JEON SEJIN. "The Father's Empty Seat- Narrative Strategy in Kim Eun-sook's Fantasy Dramas" Journal of Popular Narrative 32, no.3 (2026) : 491-530.doi: 10.18856/jpn.2026.32.3.014
