• Journal of Korean Classical Literature and Education
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• no.32
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• pp.193-224
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• 2016

The North Korean animation is a puppet movie that is adapted The Brother and Sister Who Became the Sun and the Moon, a traditional Korean lore. The quality of this animation is acknowledged because of not only North Korea's considerably advanced animation technology but also the animation's retention of the folklore's traditional essence rather than intention to disseminate ideological propaganda. Nevertheless, the animation reveals the trasformation of its original purpose from general educative intentions for children to the educative concept of salvation by heaven is replaced by salvation by people and cultural education insteadof salvation by heaven. The appearance of the hero Jangsoe is the key adaptation of this animation, and it suggests the main principal of salvation lies in man rather than in heaven. Such adaptation complies with the requirements of children's literature suggested by the North Korea's literary history office. Furthemore the hero Jangsoe as the examplary figure of revolutionary self-reliance ideology and as a leader. Theory of self-reliance literature stipulates that children's literature is used for ideological education that develops people to be successors of revolutionary feats and become active workers for the construction of socialism and communism, therefore it is possible to understand the purpose of the adaptation to reflect the educational aims. This study investigates the change in meaning form the original folktale through such adaptation, and highlights problems related to limiting the meaning implied in "heaven's salvation" in the original story only to the vague meaning of religious hope. This vague implied meaning is considered as "an awareness activity to examine their own existence in the universe". With regard to this, the concept of heaven's salvation that is prevalent in the classic stories can be interpreted as a positive self-belief that enables the use of rationality in any helpless situation that cannot be understood with existing empirical knowledge. It considers that heaven expresses the power that exists in the human mind through self-viability and self-belief. This creates the power of reason in the character to fight against the evil disguised as the mother, in the absence of the real mother.

• Journal of Popular Narrative
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.217-247
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• 2019

This research paper intends to examine the intertextuality of Klaus Mann's novel Mephisto (1936) and István Szabó's film Mephisto (1981) and how the derivative contents (i.e., film) accepted and improved the schematic aesthetics of conviction in original contents (i.e., novel). In general, the aesthetics of conviction is applied to criticize the state socialism of the artists of the Third Reich or the ideology of the artists of East Germany from a biased ethical perspective. Mephisto is also based on the aesthetics of conviction. Thus, it would be meaningful to examine the characteristic similarity and difference between Klaus Mann's real antagonist (i.e., Gustaf Gründgens) and fictional antagonist (i.e., Hendrik Höfgen) from a historical critical perspective. In this process, an aesthetic distance between the real and fictional antagonists would be secured through the internal criticism in terms of intertextuality. In this respect, the film aesthetics of István Szabó are deemed to overcome the schematic limit of the original novel. The conviction in both the novel and film of Mephisto pertains to the belief and stance of a person who compromised with the state socialism of Nazi Germany, i.e., succumbed to the irresistible history. Klaus Mann denounced Mephisto's character Höfgen (i.e., Gründgens in reality) as an "Mephisto with evil spirits" from the perspective of exile literature. For such denunciation, Klaus Mann used various means such as satire, caricature, sarcasm, parody and irony. However, his novel is devoid of introspection and "utopianism", and thus could be considered to allow personal rights to be disregarded by the freedom of art. On the contrary, István Szabó employed the two different types of evil (evil of Mephisto and evil of Faust) from a dualistic perspective (instead of a dichotomous perspective of good and evil) by expressing the character of Höfgen like both Mephisto and Hamlet (i.e., "Faust with both good and evil spirits). However, Szabó did not present the mixed character of "Mephisto and Hamlet (Faust)" only as an object of pity. Rather, Szabó called for social responsibility by showing a much more tragic end. As such, the novel Mephisto is more like the biography of an individual, and the film Mephisto is more like the biography of a generation. The aesthetics of conviction of Mephisto appears to overcome biased historical and textual perspectives through the irony of intertextuality between the novel and the film. Even if history is an irresistible "fate" to an individual, human dignity cannot be denied because it is the "value of life". The issue of conviction is not only limited to the times of Nazi Germany. It can also be raised with the ideology of the modern and contemporary history of Korea. History is so deeply rooted that it should not be criticized merely from a dichotomous perspective. When it comes to the relationship between history and individual life, a neutral point of view is required. Hopefully, this research paper will provide readers with a significant opportunity for finding out their "inner Mephisto" and "inner Hamlet."

• (The) Research of the performance art and culture
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• no.43
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• pp.173-202
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• 2021

During the Korean War, China dispatched 'the Anti-US and Pro-Joseon Comfort' group to North Korea 3 times. The purpose of the comfort group was to comfort the Chinese People's Supporting Soldiers and Joseon People's Army fighting the US imperial forces and at the same time, inform them of China's situation to booster their morale. Another purpose was to promote the socialism construction projects in the new China. Namely, China wanted to propagate various heroic achievements of the Chinese soldiers and accuse the US imperialist soldiers and thereby, inspire Chinese people's international sense and patriotism for the new China to mobilize the people for the war and promote the construction of the new China effectively. The comfort group consisted of diverse classes (laborers, farmers, intellectuals, women, students, soldiers, etc.) in various areas such as politics, military, ethnic, society, culture, education, etc. Their activities were conducted in various forms such as consolation, legwork, meeting and performances. Their activities were full of anger and compassion, sacrifice and emotion, battle and romance, impression and comfort. Such emotion was delivered intact to the Chinese people through the comfort group's propaganda activities back home in China. The Anti-US and Pro-Joseon Comfort' group revealed their identity of socialists New China in terms of their organization and their specific performances. Their identity claimed for democracy and equality, internationalism empathizing world peace and solidarity of the proletariats, and patriotism supporting the communists regime. The comfort group played a role in propagating such identity of new China effectively by crossing the border. It was a political and cultural performance that stipulated the political meaning of the Anti-US and Pro-Joseon Chosun Comfort' group

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.147-169
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• 2015

Our society has been changed so rapidly and we have achieved industrialization and democratization swiftly. On our Economic growth and democratization, it is appraised that Christian Thought and western Capitalism thoughts have been one of the important factors. John Calvin, well known Reformer and thinker of Protestant, as M. Weber assessed, contributed greatly to the progress of Capitalism. He was a Religion Reformer as M. Luther and especially a thinker and man of deed, who affected large areas of human life such as Religion, Economy, Society and Politics. Calvin understood Economy is the main issue of theology and Economic activities can be a position which may restore the correct relationship of God and Man. This Paper aimed to survey, synthesize and systemize the Economy and Management thought of J. Calvin. On these changing current society, it surveyed if His thoughts that has long history, can be applicable or not and Where and How it may. Calvin's Thought not only on his age caused important changes and Reformation but now suggests critical milestones. His Thoughts of Love, Justice, and Fairness based on the Bible have been evaluated as the universal truth and important criteria. Until nowadays his Philosophy has composed critical Principles of decision making rules of Economy and Management and National policies. Especially today, when economy has been more emphasized as a center of our lives, His Thought suggests momentous directions on various Human Life such as Justice and Fairness, deepening of gap between poor and rich, expansion of conflicts among social classes, employment and wages, freedom of markets and its balance, and public good of land use. Reviewing Calvin's Economy and Management thoughts as meaningful basis on the our and world Economy which became worse caused by world monetary crisis and Europe financial crisis that aroused by world Economy globalization and expansion of neo-liberalism, this Paper suggested some future directions. And for the practical sectors, Distribution and Logistics, it proposed some issues and Directions, considering the impacts of His thoughts on the Industries. Nevertheless it can deliver some contributions, as a literature research, it reveals some limitations that it may contain lacking of practical investigations and cases on economy and management fields. In the future, more detailed and deeper research on the practical and situations of economy and management shall be needed.