본문 바로가기
  • Home

Re-dreaming about Futures: Alternative Futurisms in Korean and Global Science Fiction

  • 탈경계인문학Trans-Humanities
  • 2023, 16(1), pp.31-57
  • DOI : 10.22901/trans.2023.16.1.31
  • Publisher : Ewha Institute for the Humanities: EIH
  • Research Area : Humanities > Other Humanities
  • Received : March 25, 2023
  • Accepted : April 25, 2023
  • Published : April 30, 2023

Noh Dae-won 1

1제주대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the diversity of global Science Fiction and the emergence of alternative futurisms in different parts of the world in the context of SF world literature. The Anglo-American-centered science fiction genre has now erupted into “alternative futurisms” in various countries and regions, such as Afrofuturism, Gulf Futurism, and Hawaiian Futurism. In Asia, Asian futurism emerged as a resistance to and subversion of techno-orientalism. Chinese futurism(Sinofuturism), on the other hand, is a criticism of Western imperialism and is related to the hegemonic competition of China, which has grown into a technological economic power. Finally, by examining various alternative futurisms around the world, this paper proposes the concept of “Korean futurism” by analyzing the characteristics of Korean SF, the specificity of Korean society, and its relationship with global SF. Korean Futurism is a critique of imperialism and anthropocentric imagination, and more delicate glocalization such as “Jeju Futurism” is called for. Alternative futurism in Korean SF can also emerge in the form of new speculative fiction subgenres/ movements, such as ecological SF and solarpunk, as a response to the Anthropocene and climate crisis. SF futurisms are creating a future of solidarity while respecting differences and diversity.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.