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Romance Fantasy and Feminism Reboot in Korea

  • 탈경계인문학Trans-Humanities
  • 2024, 17(2), pp.194-228
  • DOI : 10.22901/trans.2024.17.2.194
  • Publisher : Ewha Institute for the Humanities: EIH
  • Research Area : Humanities > Other Humanities
  • Received : September 11, 2024
  • Accepted : October 14, 2024
  • Published : October 31, 2024

Ha Yulim 1

1이화여자대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Romance fantasy, a leading genre of Korean web contents, is a modern version of chivalric romance where the subject of the adventure is a woman. The rise in popularity of the romance fantasy genre coincides with what has come to be termed the “feminism reboot” movement in Korea. Romance fantasy has both progressive and regressive aspects. It is a representative female genre born from the desire of female readers for women’s narratives. In particular, romance fantasy relies on pastiche to generate a fictional world where women can feel a sense of achievement, agency, and freedom that is difficult to attain in real life. However, romance fantasy also reinforces traditional gender norms because as pastiche, it continues to rely on the existing binary gender power structure. Moreover, through commercialization of romance fantasy, women’s desires are manipulated by commercial interests that back up regressive models of socially approved femininity. Yet, moving dialectically between progressive and regressive elements, romance fantasy also harbors the ideal of a female utopia. It provides an opportunity for women to experience a reversal of traditional gender roles and to engage in community discussions, including those about ideal masculinity.

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