KJCKorea
Journal Central

This study analyzes the archetypal structure of the Korean Moo hyup (martial chivalric) novel underlying the John Wick film series and examines how its narrative framework is adapted within visual media. The research argues that Moo hyup fiction embodies universal values and offers a globally resonant narrative strategy. Although John Wick, a Hollywood production, is set in a modern urban context, it reinterprets the Gangho—the autonomous, morally coded world central to Moo hyup novels. By constructing an independent universe detached from reality, the series allows audiences to accept hyper stylized violence as natural and to immerse themselves in its mythic logic. Moreover, through the protagonist’s enactment of private justice, the film reconfigures Hyup eui (the code of righteousness) as a legitimizing moral principle behind violent acts. The hero’s aura, sustained through reputation and rumor, transforms into a form of “modern mythology.” Ultimately, John Wick demonstrates how the Moo hyup narrative prototype can achieve both artistic immersion and global commercial success without explicit reference to its East Asian origins.

Johnwick, Moo hyup novel, Gangho, private justice, Hyup eui, Hero narrative