• Journal of Popular Narrative
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.183-212
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• 2020

GL(Girls' Love), which deals with romance between women, is considered a small, minor culture in the sub-culture market. Nevertheless, recent 'reboot feminism' in the voice of women in the epic that appears to be the central protagonist is increased, and interest in naturally glIncreasing. It encourages those who declare "post BL" to consume GLs featuring female characters instead of male characters. In an atmosphere where female creators consume female dictionaries who write women's stories and argue that they should expand the scope of their female counterparts, "Her Simcheong," a webtoon that won the 2018 Our Comics Award, explores the possibility of female epic through rewriting myths. Gender norms given to women, such as filial piety and nirvana, all get new names in . A good daughter is a liar, and a good wife has a woman she loves. Besides Simcheong, hit-and-run mothers, Jang Seung-sang's wife and Jang Seung-sang's daughter-in-law also focus on female characters' stories, highlighting solidarity among women to survive in a male-dominated society. In this process, solidarity among women naturally leads to GL imagination. Her Simcheong describes direct sexual contact, such as kissing and hugging among women, as beautiful illustrations, and shows romance between women in a manless world. While solidarity among women is always regarded as 'undangerous' friendship or girlish sensibility, the romance between women in breaks the cultural rules of women's growth novel and women's trade. This reveals the inconsistency of the conspiratorial male solidarity, which has been trading women around hegemony.

• Journal of Popular Narrative
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.9-37
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• 2020

The present study examines the transnational "Hallyu" (the Korean wave) phenomenon after the 1990s in the context of a solidarity movement of East Asian women. It also focuses on the passion for the world stage given the cultural industry was supported by the government as a "chimney-less factory" during the IMF financial crisis. Over the past twenty years and through Hallyu 1.0, Hallyu 2.0, and Hallyu 3.0, "K-entertainment" has been advocated, as a concept that encompasses K-drama, K-pop, etc. in the cultural industry. Furthermore, everything Korean, through K-culture, is being put at the forefront. However, there is insufficient discussion regarding the actions of the women who led the Korean wave. This paper examines the female fans and girl groups who played leading roles in the rise of popular culture and its transnational prominence within the context of the female agency and female labor involved. The lack of acknowledgment of their roles is linked to the current erasure of the discussion on the female youth. Discussion on "woman" is still limited to the domain of reproduction in the generational discussion that has replaced the existing nation-state or class led discussions in the current era of neoliberalism. However, since The reboot or the popularity of feminism in recent years, the interest in the female narrative, in works such as 'Kim Ji-young, Born 1982' has been expanding beyond East Asia to the rest of the world. Just as Hallyu was created by women in the beginning, there is a new trend in which women across national borders are joining in solidarity. As such, the present study attempts to prove that the female fan, girl group, and female youths must be one meta-narrative through a feminist reading, rather than individuals with separate identities.