• Journal of Popular Narrative
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.41-66
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• 2019

This paper looks at the readers and publishing strategies of paperback romance novels in the the 1980s based on the 'high-teen' concept. The purpose of this article is to examine the meaning the 'high-teen' concepts as expressed in the media through the publication of paperback romance series in the 1980s. Among paperback romance series, this paper was based on pirated/licensed version of novels published by Harlequin, a Canadian publisher, and the magazine media's advertising promotional phrases that were published targeting the same readers. Since the 1970s, mass media have referred to teenagers as high-teens and called them important consumers. High-teen was a term referring to teenagers in school uniforms, mostly girls, and in the 1980s, 'high-teen' was also introduced as a new consumer market, and the publishing market put forward a number of publishing strategies to attract them. The paperback romance, including , has identified 'high-teen' readers as late-teen girls, sensitive consumers for best-sellers/million-sellers, readers with a tendency to read stories of love, and readers that favor American and Western culture. Since the 1980s, the market for paperback romance has been in the recession, but readers have kept the romance genre alive by accepting and localizing the Harlequin series. With the rise of a new form of media called the 'Web Novel', interest in the romance genre is increasing, and we hope this study will serve as a starting point for a variety of discussions with (women) readers about romance reading/enjoyment.

• Journal of Popular Narrative
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.67-99
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• 2019

This paper analyzed romance novels imported into Korea in the 1980s and examined the traits of Korean girls' culture at that time. To this end, This paper chose as subjects the series of 'high-teen romance' published by Samjungdang, 'princess bestseller' by Seoul Publishing and the 'silhouette romance' by Joongang Ilbo in the 1980s. Through the aspects of the paperback romances, the traits of the artist, the content of the work, and the response of the reader, this paper analyzed the position and affection of romance as a genre in Korean culture in the 1980s. In the 1980s, most of the paperback romances available in Korea were translations of the modern and progressive present lines of Harlequin Enterprise's category romance. There were also many writers who were mostly introduced with progressive characters like Charlotte Lamb. The Harlequin romance depicts a story of sensual love. These translated 1980s paperback romance novels allowed girls in Korea to freely imagine the problems of sex and love. In particular, it showed a new perspective on women's sexuality. In Korean love novels, the sexuality of women was treated as an object for the gaze of men. The novels of female writers as college student who criticized this dealt with women's sexuality, but focused on criticism and resistance to the ideology of chastity. The paperback romance made it possible for women to freely enjoy their sexuality by escaping the ethical standards of reality. In addition, the paperback romance was an escape from the frustration of love. Romantic love in Korean love novels did not lead to the unification of mind and body, and always ended in tragedy. On the contrary, the paperback romance started with the fear of the girl who felt love for the first time, showed the process of winning over anxiety, confirming love and reaching a happy marriage. Through this, girls understood general love that was not subordinated to the ideology of chastity, and accepted love positively. The process of establishing romance as a genre in Korean culture and the traits of its readers have not yet been sufficiently clarified yet. This paper compared the romance genre with the other love novels of the day, explaining the position and meaning of the romance genre in Korean culture in the 1980s. Through this, we were able to chart the historical development of the Korean romance genre.