• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.42
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• pp.45-73
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• 2022

The phenomenon of veneration for Queen Mother of the West [西王母 Chn: Xiwangmu Kr: Seowangmo] is a 'cultural flow' that has garnered great interest not only in China but also in Korea for many years. To properly understand the cultural trend regarding the Queen Mother of the West, it is essential to view the related mythology as it corresponds to East Asian women as well as the transformation of society's view of women. In addition to the outcomes that result from the establishment of a patriarchal society, the relationship between goddesses and gods gradually becomes a relationship of discrimination based upon differences. Accordingly, as women change into objects that are given meaning rather than subjects that give meaning, the de-sacredization of the goddess occurs. This paper focused on the changes in the perception of the Queen Mother of the West from the view of Yin-Yang theory. This approach shows a transition process of transforming wherein she has morphed into an assistant or spouse of a god as part of a trend that deemphasizes the divinity of her as a stand-alone goddess. Yin-Yang theory is the key to understanding culture, history, and art as well as Chinese philosophy. This key can be further applied to the theme of women in mythology. What is particularly noteworthy about the process by which the Queen Mother of the West was defined as a goddess is that she was original described as half-human and half-beast and yet by the time her depictions became fully human and fully woman, she was described instead as an absolute beauty endowed with great artistic talent. In this paper, it will be revealed that the perception of the Queen Mother of the West, as an absolute beauty and artistic talent, is embedded with the male societal desire for an image of the feminine as understood via Yin-Yang theory. Queen Mother of the West as she was depicted in the Classic of Mountains and Seas (山海經 Chn: Shanhaijing Kr: Sanhaegyeong) had a half-human half-beast form that instilled people with fear of disasters and punishments from heaven. However, in the Han Dynasty, her religious significance became that of an object to ward off evil and attain blessings. By the time of the novel, Tales of the Strange (志怪小說 Chn: Zhiguaixiaoshuo Kr: Jigoesoseol), from the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, she was transformed into a goddess in the image of beautiful woman in charge longevity and immortality. From the perspective of Yin-Yang theory, the changes in the perception of Queen Mother of the West was found to contain the following meaning: as an extension of the establishment of a patriarchal system and subordinate laws, her new form was made to be pleasing to the male gaze and Yin-Yang theory was brought in to support those changes later.

• Journal of Popular Narrative
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.9-40
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• 2019

This study presents an investigation into South Korean films in the 1990s in the aspects of genre change and emotional reorganization. The 1990s witnessed a change of genres and a paradigm shift in the history of Korean films according to the revolutionary changes of the film industry structure and media environment. Believing that these changes had something to do with emotional changes driven by global capitalization symbolized by democratization in 1987 and the foreign currency crisis in 1998, the investigator analyzed the phenomena in film texts and examined the opportunities and context behind them. Unlike previous researches, this study made an approach to the history of Korean films in the 1990s with three points: first, this study focused on why the romantic comedy genre emerged in the 1990s and what stages its formation underwent since there had been no profound discussions about them; secondly, this study analyzed the biggest hits during the transitional period from 1987~1999 to figure out the mainstream genres and emotions during that period since these hits would provide texts to show the genre domain and public taste in a symbolic way; and finally, this study grew out of the separate investigation approach between melodramas and romantic comedies and looked into an emotional structure to encompass both genres to make a more broad and dynamic approach to South Korean films in the 1990s. History flows continuously without severance from previous times. When there is attention paid to inflection points and opportunities in the continuum, it can show the dynamics and structures of changes. This research led to the following conclusions: the mainstream genre of South Korean films had been melodramas until the 1980s. The old convention had been kept to offset or suture contradictions and excessive elements deviant from the structural consistency. Here, the structural consistency refers to no compliance to rational regulations or trade. The process of genre reorganization in the 1990s happened while securing some distance from the convention of making the structural consistency a sacrifice. The direction was to reinforce control through reasonable rationalism and logic of capital. It developed into romance, which would start with comedy to keep distance from the objects through laughter, heighten the level of remarks, and expand criticality, symbolize emotions with taste items, and build through the logic of mutual consensus and practical trade. In the 1990s, the South Korean films thus developed in a direction of moving away from the narrative of urgent pathos based on unconditional familism. It was on the same track as the entry of the South Korean society into the upgraded orbits of democracy and capitalism as the twins of modern rationalism since the latter part of the 1980s.

• Korea Science and Art Forum
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• v.30
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• pp.151-161
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• 2017

In the fields of science and engineering, multidisciplinary research is common, and researchers with a diverse range of expertise collaborate to achieve common goals. As the 4th industrial revolution gains currency in society, there is growing demand on talented personnel both with technical knowledge and skills and with communicative skills. That is, future engineers are expected to possess competence in social and artistic skills in addition to specialized knowledge and skills in engineering. In this paper we introduce an emerging field of 3D bioprinting as an exemplary case of interdisciplinary research. We have chosen the case to demonstrate the possibility of cultivating engineers with π-shaped expertise. Building on the concept of T-shaped talent, we define π-shaped expertise as having both technical skills in more than one specialized field and interpersonal/communicative skills. Wtih references to such concepts as trading zones and interactional expertise, we suggest that π-shaped expertise can be cultivated via the creation of multi-level trading zones. Trading zones are referred to as the physical, conceptual, or metaphorical spaces in which experts with different world views trade ideas, objects, and the like. Interactional expertise is cultivated, as interactions between researches are under way, with growing understanding of each other's expertise. Under the support of the university and the government, two researchers with expertise in printing technology and life sciences cooperate to develop a 3D bioprinting system. And the primary investigator of the research laboratory under study has aimed to create multiple dimensions of trading zones where researchers with different educational and cultural backgrounds can exchange ideas and interact with each other. As 3D bioprinting has taken shape, we have found that a new form of expertise, namely π-shaped expertise is formed.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.246-262
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• 2023

This study analyzed policy implementation factors focusing on how Donuimun, a demolished cultural heritage, was digitally restored and the policy implementation process of Donuimun Gate restoration. Through this, the characteristics of the implementation process of the digital Donuimun Gate restoration policy promoted by public-private multilateral collaboration were examined and implications were sought for how institutions with different interests solved problems and collaborated in the implementation process. The research method was focused on policy implementation factors including policy executive factors, policy content factors, policy resource factors, and policy environment factors, and the process was analyzed for each detailed component. Along with literature analysis, in-depth interviews were conducted with participants in policy implementation. As a result of the study, first, it was found in the policy executive factor that the quick decision-making leadership of the policy manager and the flexible attitude of the person in charge of the government agency had a positive effect on preventing conflicts between different interest groups. Second, in terms of policy content, establishing a common goal that everyone can accept and moving forward consistently gave trust and created synergy. Third, in the policy implementation resource factor, the importance of the budget was emphasized. Finally, as an environmental factor for policy implementation, the opening of 5G mobile communication for the first time along with the emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution at the time of policy implementation acted as a timely factor. The digital Donuimun Gate was the first case of restoring a lost cultural heritage with AR and VR, and received attention and support from the mass media and the public. This also shows that digital restoration can be a model case that can be a solution without conflicts with local residents where cultural heritages are located or conflicts between stakeholders in the preservation and restoration of real objects.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.172-203
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• 2023

<Cheongdamdo>(true-view landscape painting) was identified in this study to be a folding screen painting painted by Jeong Seon(a.k.a. Gyeomjae, 1676~1759) in the 32nd year of King Yeongjo(1756) while exploring the Cheongdam area located in Mt. Bukhansan near Seoul. Cheongdam Byeol-eop(Korean villa), consisting of Waunru Pavilion and Nongwolru Pavilion, was a cultural and artistic base at that time, where Nakron(Confucian political party) education took place and the Baegak Poetry Society met. <Cheongdamdo> is a painting that recalls a period of autumn rainfall in 1756 when Jeong Seon arrived in the Cheongdam valley with his disciple Kim Hee-sung(a.k.a. Bulyeomjae, 1723~1769) and met Hong Sang-han(1701~1769). It focuses on the valley flowing from Insubong peak to the village entrance. The title has a dual meaning, emphasizing "Cheongdam", a landscape feature that originated from the name of the area, while also referring to the whole scenery of the Cheongdam area. The technique of drastically brushing down(刷擦) wet pimajoon(hanging linen), the expression of soft horizontal points(米點), and the use of fine brush strokes reveal Jeong Seon's mature age. In particular, considering the contrast between the rock peak and the earthy mountain and symmetry of the numbers, the attempt to harmonize yin and yang sees it regarded as a unique Jingyeong painting(眞境術) that Jeong Seon, who was proficient in 『The Book of Changes』, presented at the final stage of his excursion. 「Cheongdamdongbugi」(Personal Anthology) of Eo Yu-bong(1673~1744) was referenced when Jeong Seon sought to understand and express the true scenery of Cheongdam and the physical properties of the main landscape features in the villa garden. The characteristics of this garden, which Jeong Seon clearly differentiated from the field, suppressed the view of water with transformed and exaggerated rocks(水口막이), elaborately creating a rain forest to cover the villa(裨補林), and adding new elements to help other landscape objects function. In addition, two trees were tilted to effectively close the garden like a gate, and an artificial mountain belt(造山帶), the boundary between the outer garden and the inner garden, was built solidly like a long fence connecting an interior azure dragon(內靑龍) and interior white tiger(內白虎). This is the Bibo-Yeomseung painting(裨補厭勝術) that Jeong Seon used to turn the poor location of the Cheongdam Byeol-eop into an auspicious site(明堂). It is interpreted as being devised to be a pungsu(feng shui) trick, and considered an iconographic embodiment of ideal traditional landscape architecture that was difficult to achieve in reality but which was possible through painting.