• Health Policy and Management
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.273-275
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• 2017

It has been forty years since the implementation of National Health Insurance (NHI) in South Korea. Following the 1977 legislature mandating medical insurance for employees and dependents in firms with more than 500 employees, South Korea expanded its health insurance to urban residents in 1989. Resultantly, total expenses of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) have greatly increased from 4.5 billion won in 1977 to 50.89 trillion won in 2016. With multiple insurers merging into the NHI system in 2000, a single-payer healthcare system emerged, along with separation policy of prescribing and dispensing. Following such reform, an emerging financial crisis required injections from the National Health Promotion Fund. Forty years following the introduction of the NHI system, both praise and criticism have been drawn. In just 12 years, the NHI achieved the fastest health population coverage in the world. Current medical expenditure is not high relative to the rest of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The quality of acute care in Korea is one of the best in the world. There is no sign of delayed diagnosis and/or treatment for most diseases. However, the NHI has been under-insured, requiring high-levels of out-of-pocket money from patients and often causing catastrophic medical expenses. Furthermore, the current environmental circumstances of the NHI are threatening its sustainability. Low birth rate decline, as well as slow economic growth, will make sustainment of the current healthcare system difficult in the near future. An aging population will increase the amount of medical expenditure required, especially with the baby-boomer generation of those born between 1955 and 1965. Meanwhile, there is always the problem of unification for the Korean Peninsula, and what role the health insurance system will have to play when it occurs. In the presidential election, health insurance is a main issue; however, there is greater focus on expansion and expenditure than revenue. Many aspects of Korea's NHI system (1977) were modeled after the German (1883) and Japanese (1922) systems. Such systems were created during an era where infections disease control was most urgent and thus, in the current non-communicable disease (NCD) era, must be redesigned. The Korean system, which is already forty years old, must be redesigned completely. Although health insurance benefit expansion is necessary, financial measures, as well as moral hazard control measures, must also be considered. Ultimately, there are three aspects that we must consider when attempting redesign of the system. First, the health security system must be reformed. NHI and Medical Aid must be amalgamated into one system for increased effectiveness and efficiency of the system. Within the single insurer system of the NHI must be an internal market for maximum efficiency. The NHIS must be separated into regions so that regional organizers have greater responsibility over their actions. Although insurance must continue to be imposed nationally, risk-adjustment must be distributed regionally and assessed by different regional systems. Second, as a solution for the decreasing flow of insurance revenue, low premium level must be increased to an appropriate level. Likewise, the national reserve fund (No. 36, National Health Insurance Act) must be enlarged for re-unification preparation. Third, there must be revolutionary reform of benefit package. The current system built a focus on communicable diseases which is inappropriate in this NCD era. Medical benefits must not be one-time events but provide chronic disease management. Chronic care models, accountable care organization, patient-centered medical homes, and other systems that introduce various benefit packages for beneficiaries must be implemented. The reimbursement system of medical costs should be introduced to various systems for different types of care, as is the case with part C (Medicare Advantage Program) of America's Medicare system that substitutes part A and part B. Pay for performance must be expanded so that there is not only improvement in quality of care but also medical costs. Moreover, beneficiaries of the NHI system must be aware of the amount of their expenditure through a deductible payment system so that spending can be profiled and monitored. The Moon Jae-in Government has announced its plans to expand the NHI system; however, it is important that a discussion forum is created so that more accurate analysis of the NHI, its environments, and current status of health care system, can take place for reforming NHI.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.39-69
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• 2012

With the advent of communication technologies including electronic collaborative tools and conferencing systems provided over the Internet, virtual collaboration is becoming increasingly common in organizations. Virtual collaboration refers to an environment in which the people working together are interdependent in their tasks, share responsibility for outcomes, are geographically dispersed, and rely on mediated rather than face-to face, communication to produce an outcome. Research suggests that new sets of individual skill, knowledge, and ability (SKAs) are required to perform effectively in today's virtualized workplace, which is labeled as individual virtual competence. It is also argued that use of online social networking sites may influence not only individuals' daily lives but also their capability to manage their work-related relationships in organizations, which in turn leads to better performance. The existing research regarding (1) the relationship between virtual competence and task performance and (2) the relationship between online networking and task performance has been conducted based on different theoretical perspectives so that little is known about how online social networking and virtual competence interplay to predict individuals' task performance. To fill this gap, this study raises the following research questions: (1) What is the individual virtual competence required for better adjustment to the virtual collaboration environment? (2) How does online networking via diverse social network service sites influence individuals' task performance in organizations? (3) How do the joint effects of individual virtual competence and online networking influence task performance? To address these research questions, we first draw on the prior literature and derive four dimensions of individual virtual competence that are related with an individual's self-concept, knowledge and ability. Computer self-efficacy is defined as the extent to which an individual beliefs in his or her ability to use computer technology broadly. Remotework self-efficacy is defined as the extent to which an individual beliefs in his or her ability to work and perform joint tasks with others in virtual settings. Virtual media skill is defined as the degree of confidence of individuals to function in their work role without face-to-face interactions. Virtual social skill is an individual's skill level in using technologies to communicate in virtual settings to their full potential. It should be noted that the concept of virtual social skill is different from the self-efficacy and captures an individual's cognition-based ability to build social relationships with others in virtual settings. Next, we discuss how online networking influences both individual virtual competence and task performance based on the social network theory and the social learning theory. We argue that online networking may enhance individuals' capability in expanding their social networks with low costs. We also argue that online networking may enable individuals to learn the necessary skills regarding how they use technological functions, communicate with others, and share information and make social relations using the technical functions provided by electronic media, consequently increasing individual virtual competence. To examine the relationships among online networking, virtual competence, and task performance, we developed research models (the mediation, interaction, and additive models, respectively) by integrating the social network theory and the social learning theory. Using data from 112 employees of a virtualized company, we tested the proposed research models. The results of analysis partly support the mediation model in that online social networking positively influences individuals' computer self-efficacy, virtual social skill, and virtual media skill, which are key predictors of individuals' task performance. Furthermore, the results of the analysis partly support the interaction model in that the level of remotework self-efficacy moderates the relationship between online social networking and task performance. The results paint a picture of people adjusting to virtual collaboration that constrains and enables their task performance. This study contributes to research and practice. First, we suggest a shift of research focus to the individual level when examining virtual phenomena and theorize that online social networking can enhance individual virtual competence in some aspects. Second, we replicate and advance the prior competence literature by linking each component of virtual competence and objective task performance. The results of this study provide useful insights into how human resource responsibilities assess employees' weakness and strength when they organize virtualized groups or projects. Furthermore, it provides managers with insights into the kinds of development or training programs that they can engage in with their employees to advance their ability to undertake virtual work.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.221-227
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• 1977

Contents of proline and chloride in halophytes were $80-1700\;{\mu}g/gfw$ and 0.13-0.45 mM/gfw respectively. The content of proline was inversely proportional to that of chloride. Rhizomes of Phargmites communis Trin, a halophyte, were grown in non-saline medium and then taken to saline treatment for one or two weeks. Growth of P. communis was inhibited when salinized with 0.25M NaCl. Total nitrogen decreased and alcohol soluble nitrogen and proline increased when growth was retarded. The quantity of Fraction 1 protein decreased at 0.25M NaCl treatment. The accumulation of proline at high concentration in P. communis suggested that it might play a role in osmotic adjustment.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.565-577
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• 2017

Purpose: There have been limited studies investigating the relationship between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), metabolic diseases, and dietary factors in Korean adults. Here, we examined the association between nutrient intake and serum hsCRP among Korean adults. Methods: Using data on 2,624 healthy Korean adults (1,537 women and 1,087 men) from the 2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, demographic, anthropometric, biochemical, and dietary factors were analyzed once the subjects were grouped into either sex, age, or BMI. Nutrient intake was evaluated using the dietary data obtained by one-day 24-hour recall. Based on the guidelines of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Heart Association, hsCRP level was classified as HCRPG (High CRP Group, hsCRP > 1 mg/L) and LCRPG (Low CRP Group, hsCRP ${\leq}1mg/L$). Proc surveyreg procedure was performed to examine the associations between nutrient intake and hsCRP after adjustment for potential confounding variables. Results: The average hsCRP level of healthy Korean adults was $0.95{\pm}0.03mg/L$ ($0.97{\pm}0.04mg/L$ in men, $0.92{\pm}0.05mg/L$ in women). Obese subjects had significantly higher hsCRP than non-obese subjects in both sexes. The hsCRP level was positively associated with current smoking, physical inactivity, BMI, waist circumference, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and blood pressure and inversely associated with HDL-cholesterol. LCRPG had significantly higher intake of dietary fiber compared to HCRPG in women. High hsCRP level was associated with more dietary cholesterol intake but less omega-3 fatty acid intake among subjects aged ${\geq}50y$. HCRPG of obese subjects had higher intakes of fat and saturated fatty acid than LCRPG. Conclusion: The hsCRP level is closely associated with several lifestyle variables and nutrient intake in healthy Korean adults. Individuals with high hsCRP level show low intakes of dietary fiber and omega-3 fatty acids but high intakes of dietary fat and cholesterol. Our findings suggest that a potential anti-inflammatory role for nutrients and lifestyle in the Korean adult population.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.171-209
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• 2008

The Great Depression is one of the most important economic incidents in the twentieth century. A significant and long-lasting impact of this event is the rise of the government intervention to the economy. Under the catastrophic downturn of the economic condition worldwide, people required their government to play an active role for economic recovery, and this $mentalit{\acute{e}}$ prolonged even after the Second World War. Social science textbooks taught at Korean high schools mostly referred to the Great Depression for explaining the reason of government intervention in economy. However, the mainstream view commonly found in the textbooks provides a misleading theological interpretation. It argues that inherent flaws of the market economy causes over-production/under-consumption, and that this mismatch ends up with economic crisis. The chaotic situation was resolved by substitution of the governments for the market, and the New Deal was introduced as the monumental example ('laissez-faire economy ${\rightarrow}$over-production${\rightarrow}$the Great Depression${\rightarrow}$government intervention${\rightarrow}$economic recovery'). Based on economic historians' researches for past three decades, I argue that this mainstream view commits the fallacy of ex-post justification. Unlike what the mainstream view claims, the Great Depression was neither the result of the 'market failure', nor the recovery from the Great Depression but was due to successful government policies. For substantiating this claim, I suggest three points. First, blaming the weakness or instability of the market economy as the cause of the Great Depression is groundless. Unlike what the textbooks describe, the rise of the U.S. stock price during the 1920s cannot be said as a bubble, and there was no sign of under-consumption during the 1920s. On the contrary, a new consensus emerging from the 1980s among economic historians illustrates that the Great Depression was originated from 'the government failure' rather than from the 'market failure'. Policymakers of European countries tried to return to the gold standard regime before the First World War, but discrepancies between this policy and the reality made the world economy vulnerable. Second, the mainstream view identifies the New Deal as Keynesian interventionism and glorifies it for saving the U.S. economy from the crisis. However, this argument is not true. The New Deal was not Keynesian at all. What the U.S. government actually tried was not macroeconomic stabilization but price and quantity control. In addition, New Deal did not brought about economic recovery that people generally believe. Even after the New Deal, industrial production or employment level remained quite low until the late 1930s. Lastly, studies on individual New Deal policies show that they did not work as they were intended. For example, the National Industrial Recovery Act increased unemployment, and the Agricultural Adjustment Act expelled tenants from their land. Third, the mainstream view characterizes the economic order before the Great Depression as laissez-faire, and it tends to attribute all the vice during the Industrial Revolution era to the uncontrolled market economy. However, historical studies show that various economic and social problems of the Industrial Revolution period such as inequality problems, child labor, or environmental problems cannot be simply ascribed to the problems of the market economy. In conclusion, the remedy for all these problems in high school textbooks is not to use the Great Depression as an example showing the weakness of the market economy. The Great Depression should be introduced simply as a historical momentum that had initiated the growth of government intervention. This reform of high school textbooks is imperative for enhancing the right understanding of economy and history.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.322-341
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• 2001

The family value is expected to play a crucial role in adjusting a new environment for the family, especially in the critical situation as having a child with cancer in the family. The purpose of the study was to analyze the family values of the family with cancer children in order to offer descriptive data, which will facilitate family adjustment with cancer children. The survey was conducted from July 18, 2000 to August 30, 2000 and the analysis included 309 parents of the children who have been diagnosed as cancer, 18 years of age or less, and treated either hospitalized or at the outpatient clinics. Two instruments were used to measure family value. The modified form of General family value scale was 18 items with a 5 points of Likert response format (Cronbach alpha= .78) and Family value scale was developed for the study with 12 items on a 5 points of Likert response format(Cronbach alpha= .73). The data analysis utilized SAS 6.12 for percentage, frequency, Mean, and t-test of demographic characteristics and mean, F score, ANOVA, and Duncan follow-up test of variable relationships. The study findings were as follows. 1) In General family value, the fathers gave the higher scores to 'The children should live with their parents'(M=4.01), and 'A parents and their children are like one body' (M=3.91). The item with lowest score was 'Its not impossible for man to have extramarital relationship'(M=1.92). The mothers thought the most important items were 'A parents and their children are like one body'(M=3.79), and 'A wife needs to be patient to keep harmony of the family' (M=3.56), and the item with lowest score was 'Its not impossible for man to have extramarital relationship'(M=1.44). 2) The mean scores of the mothers were higher than the fathers for all items in family value with cancer children, while fathers gave more points for items in general family value. Both of parents gave the highest score to 'The health of the family is most important to me'(M=4.85 for fathers, M=4.97 for mothers), and followed by 'The husband and wife need to be patient and understand each other to overcome the difficulties'. The item with lowest scores was 'The parents can have conflicts in making decisions since their child was sick'(M=3.34 for fathers, M=3.37 for mothers). 3) There were significant differences between fathers and mothers in items of General family value; fathers gave more points to the items of 'The children should live with their parents', 'Its essential to hold the ceremony to respect their forefathers', 'Its not impossible for man to have extramarital relationship', 'A woman with two daughters should have one more baby to succeed the generation', 'The husbands are responsible for the household economy', and 'When his mother and wife dont get along, the man should be on his mothers side'. However, there was no significant difference between fathers and mothers in items of Family value with cancer children. 4) The general family value was significantly different by the birth order of cancer children, mothers age, mothers education level, and types of payment. On the other hand, the family value with cancer children was significantly different by the age of cancer children, period of illness, period after completing treatment, family type, the number of family members, and the number of total children.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.7-29
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• 2012

Smartphone and its applications (i.e. apps) are increasingly penetrating consumer markets. According to a recent report from Korea Communications Commission, nearly 50% of mobile subscribers in South Korea are smartphone users that accounts for over 25 million people. In particular, the importance of smartphone has risen as a geospatially-aware device that provides various location-based services (LBS) equipped with GPS capability. The popular LBS include map and navigation, traffic and transportation updates, shopping and coupon services, and location-sensitive social network services. Overall, the emerging location-based smartphone apps (LBA) offer significant value by providing greater connectivity, personalization, and information and entertainment in a location-specific context. Conversely, the rapid growth of LBA and their benefits have been accompanied by concerns over the collection and dissemination of individual users' personal information through ongoing tracking of their location, identity, preferences, and social behaviors. The majority of LBA users tend to agree and consent to the LBA provider's terms and privacy policy on use of location data to get the immediate services. This tendency further increases the potential risks of unprotected exposure of personal information and serious invasion and breaches of individual privacy. To address the complex issues surrounding LBA particularly from the user's behavioral perspective, this study applied the privacy calculus model (PCM) to explore the factors that influence the adoption of LBA. According to PCM, consumers are engaged in a dynamic adjustment process in which privacy risks are weighted against benefits of information disclosure. Consistent with the principal notion of PCM, we investigated how individual users make a risk-benefit assessment under which personalized service and locatability act as benefit-side factors and information privacy risks act as a risk-side factor accompanying LBA adoption. In addition, we consider the moderating role of trust on the service providers in the prohibiting effects of privacy risks on user intention to adopt LBA. Further we include perceived ease of use and usefulness as additional constructs to examine whether the technology acceptance model (TAM) can be applied in the context of LBA adoption. The research model with ten (10) hypotheses was tested using data gathered from 98 respondents through a quasi-experimental survey method. During the survey, each participant was asked to navigate the website where the experimental simulation of a LBA allows the participant to purchase time-and-location sensitive discounted tickets for nearby stores. Structural equations modeling using partial least square validated the instrument and the proposed model. The results showed that six (6) out of ten (10) hypotheses were supported. On the subject of the core PCM, H2 (locatability ${\rightarrow}$ intention to use LBA) and H3 (privacy risks ${\rightarrow}$ intention to use LBA) were supported, while H1 (personalization ${\rightarrow}$ intention to use LBA) was not supported. Further, we could not any interaction effects (personalization X privacy risks, H4 & locatability X privacy risks, H5) on the intention to use LBA. In terms of privacy risks and trust, as mentioned above we found the significant negative influence from privacy risks on intention to use (H3), but positive influence from trust, which supported H6 (trust ${\rightarrow}$ intention to use LBA). The moderating effect of trust on the negative relationship between privacy risks and intention to use LBA was tested and confirmed by supporting H7 (privacy risks X trust ${\rightarrow}$ intention to use LBA). The two hypotheses regarding to the TAM, including H8 (perceived ease of use ${\rightarrow}$ perceived usefulness) and H9 (perceived ease of use ${\rightarrow}$ intention to use LBA) were supported; however, H10 (perceived effectiveness ${\rightarrow}$ intention to use LBA) was not supported. Results of this study offer the following key findings and implications. First the application of PCM was found to be a good analysis framework in the context of LBA adoption. Many of the hypotheses in the model were confirmed and the high value of $R^2$ (i.,e., 51%) indicated a good fit of the model. In particular, locatability and privacy risks are found to be the appropriate PCM-based antecedent variables. Second, the existence of moderating effect of trust on service provider suggests that the same marginal change in the level of privacy risks may differentially influence the intention to use LBA. That is, while the privacy risks increasingly become important social issues and will negatively influence the intention to use LBA, it is critical for LBA providers to build consumer trust and confidence to successfully mitigate this negative impact. Lastly, we could not find sufficient evidence that the intention to use LBA is influenced by perceived usefulness, which has been very well supported in most previous TAM research. This may suggest that more future research should examine the validity of applying TAM and further extend or modify it in the context of LBA or other similar smartphone apps.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.33 no.10B
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• pp.946-961
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• 2008

This study aims to provide guidelines on future policy for restructuring the scheme of aid programs associated with If small and medium-sized enterprises (i.e. SME) in Korea. For this purpose, we investigate an empirical dataset of recent aid programs deployed by Ministry of Information and Communication (i.e. MIC) for the last four years First, it is examined that the programs are practiced in accordance with their own policy objective by comparing matching samples between two groups such as program beneficiary and non-beneficiary companies. Second, positioning transition of programs within a same category is visualized in terms of two business portfolio analysis matrices. Third, an affiliation network matrix of (he programs is newly developed and then we attempt to analyze the programs relationship by the application of multidimensional scaling method to the affiliation network matrix. The empirical dataset is composed of two different kinds of corporate datasets. One is a corporate dataset of 8,994 beneficiary companies that are aided by MIC during the year of '03-'06. The other is also a corporate dataset of 18,354 non-beneficiary companies that have no records of the program supports during the years at all. Particularly, the matching samples of non-beneficiary companies are prepared in order to have comparable corporate age years (i.e. CAY) against beneficiary companies' CAY. Results show that; 1) up-to-date, the programs are properly assigned to IT SME conforming to their own policy objective; 2) however, as the year goes on, the following two distinct positioning transitions are revealed such as (1) both CAY and corporate sales (i.e. SAL) are increased simultaneously, (2) ratio of intangible assets (i.e. RIA) is decreased and ratio of operating gain to revenue (i.e. ROR) is increased. Hence, the role of the programs gets weakened with regard to providing seed money to technology innovation-typed IT SME so that a managerial adjustment of the programs is required consequently; 3) even though the model adequacy is not satisfactory through the analysis of multidimensional scaling method, the relationship of indirect-typed programs can relatively be stronger than that of direct-typed programs.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
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• s.28
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• pp.155-180
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• 2012

This article is to propose a conceptual framework for the One Source Multi Use (OSMU) strategic model of culture content. In this study, OSMU is defined as a series of marketing activities to increase the value created by culture content. The framework of brand equity strategy is applied to develop the strategic model of OSMU, as both share the same goal - maximization of long term value created by brand or culture content. This article suggests the brand identity-based OSMU strategic model, in which the brand identity of culture content guides, integrates, and coordinates every decision-making of OSMU activities. For the maximization of brand equity value of culture content, the copyright holder of original content should decide the content's brand identity, which should provide the criteria of all decision makings regarding window strategy, adaptation of content to other genre, and merchandising. This brand identity-based OSMU strategic model can not only contribute to the sales of OSMU content, but also the creation of high equity culture content in the long run. Also, the model allows monitoring and evaluation of content's brand equity, which can be used for the strategic adjustment for the sake of long term value of the content. This study is differentiated from previous study on OSMU and expected to invigorate the further discussion on OSMU in several points. First, it broadens the scope of OSMU discussion as it views OSMU as a series of process including feedback. Second, this study points out the need for integration and coordination of various OSMU activities. Third, the strategic focus is laid on the value maximization of the original content, not 'multi used' content. Fourth, the suggested model emphasize the strategic role of copyright holder who takes the charge of the content brand management. Fifth, the model requires discussion on the components of marketing communication in addition to the content itself, which means the model includes the prospects, not only the content consumers, as the major future source for value creation.

• 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.