• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.665-680
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• 2020

This study analyzed changes in Korean online-game market from RPG to MOBA and FPS/TPS genre, based on Azuma Hiroki's database consumption theory. After selecting the representative game for each genre: World of Warcraft, League of Legends, and Overwatch, we analyzed the games' story, characters, progress, and simulacre produced by game users. The results of this study confirmed that changes in popular genre in the domestic online-game market proceed from consumers' verging toward database consumption. We also found that Korean game users prefer smaller stories and characters based on database, and that consumers have produced more rigorous simulacre than those in other cultural areas and re-databased it for next consumption. This study is the first to analyze changes in the domestic online-game market and adds a contribution to the literature in terms of incorporating Azuma Hiroki's consumption theory into the domestic game market.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
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• s.41
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• pp.487-510
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• 2015

In recently, thanks to the development of computer and internet, and reinforcement of digital media literacy of ordinary people, many users of comics and animations recombine contents into various ways, including UCCs. In a glance, it seems these outputs violates the copyrights of contents. But in reality, they helps the growth of the ecosystem of contents market, with increase of contents users. The reason of these reproductions inclines the characteristics of animation media. Animation, which are constituted by plastic symbols, auditory symbols, and narrative symbols, and Comic, which supports stories of Animations, affects as 'Imaginary signifier'. These signifiers helps users of contents to dismantle and reassemble stories. These aspects are seen in doujin culture, animation soundtrack fandom, and voice actor fandom. But In this article, we will concentrate into cosplay culture. Cosplay culture shows more active appearances than another fandoms. In especially, cosplay stage and daily cafe show more active reproductions of characters and communications. However, they are done by youth fans, which has not enough financial abilities: therefore, events are not sustainable and discontinued. And they have another limits, like lack of opportunity of performance. In the reality of Korean society, which needs of community making by community member, and hybrid culture, comics and animation productions in Korea are in need of access positively and encourage reproductions of active receivers of animations.

• 기호학연구
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• no.57
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• pp.211-255
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• 2018

This paper attempts to "re-read" the webtoon Misaeng, which was once an important issue in the field of public discourse on "labor". Our hypothesis was that the dual actactial structure of Misaeng's hero Jang Geurae gave a dual structure to the entire text, which leads to the discovery of text meaning that was not mentioned in the existing discourse. This is based on the concept of 'meta-story character', which Hiroki Azuma talked in his postmodern literary theory. To verify this hypothesis we analyzed the text by applying the Parisian semiotics, more specifically J. Fontanille's theory. Jang Geurae is observed to be a actant of dual structure divided into 'character' of the enunciated level and 'player' of the enunciation level. Considering this characteristic of the hero, Misaeng can be interpreted as a metafiction that shows the 'shifting' between the subject of the enunciated level and the subject of the enunciation level. On the level of 'character' Jang's existence mode turns out to be "Deficiency (actualized)", but on the level of 'player' Jang 's existence mode turns out to be "Inanity(potentiallized)." His somatic responses also show a duality, which is represented by Fontanille's corps-actant model, where on the level of 'character' the somatic actant of Jang consists of 'Moi-chair(ego-flesh)' and 'Soi-idem(self-idem)', and on the level of 'player' it consists of 'Moi-chair(ego-flesh)' and 'Soi-ipse(self-ipse)'. The former mainly acts as a 'role' and takes charge of exteroceptive perception, while the latter mainly acts as 'attitude' and takes charge of interoceptive perception. Because of this dissociative nature of actant, Jang's two 'self' draw the re-adjustment of values without serious conflict between the collective norms and the individual identity. This is in sharp contrast with other characters who struggle with the conflict between the environment and "self". It becomes customary to adopt norms that are suspected to ineffective, but if you raise questions, the normative system can be updated. On one axis of Misaeng there are characters who have lost themselves in customs. On the other axis, there is Jang who can not help dismantling the existing ineffective norms and updating the normative system. Jang's existence mode seems to be one of many possible modes generated by this era where people share no longer solid community values, His actantial structure also communicates with readers of these days who put themselves more in subject of enunciation level than of enunciated level.