• Survey Research
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.1-38
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• 2006

This study was conducted to develop a happiness index for Korean. 16 factors of happiness derived from both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis based on a nationwide sample of 1503 Korean adults were reclassified into 3 components of Alderfer's need theory. The LISREL was used to measure the weight of each happiness factor. The results showed that happiness index was functioned by a formula(Happiness=2.5*existence+2.5*relationship+5*growth). Applying this formula, the average happiness score for Korean was 57.71. It was also demonstrated that the degree of happiness differed according to individual's gender, region, and income. Men was happier than women, while there was no significant difference among ages. As far as the region concerned, those who live in Seoul and Daejeon were happier than the others. People who earn over 2,500,000 won per month were happier than the others in terms of economic status. Finally, the result of the discriminant function analysis revealed that individual or psychological growth factor was more important than existence and relationship factors. Based on these significant research findings, practical implications and future research directions were discussed.

• Journal of Popular Narrative
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.349-383
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• 2019

This paper examined the meaning and task of romance research with a focus on Reading the Romance(1984) by Janice A. Radway. This book, which analyzes romance texts by examining the situation and meaning of reading romance by women readers integrating between cultural studies and literary studies, is one of the most popular studies on the romance genre. Radway scrutinized the practical significance of reading romance in a community of women readers. Through a study involving questionnaires and in-depth interviews, she found that for women, romance reading is a 'compensatory fiction' that brings happiness and emotional redemption through a sense of liberation achieved by escaping from patriarchal daily life. The romance that women prefer is composed of 4 stages and 13 divisions: 'Encounter → Attest → Recovery → Happy End'. It also maintains a formula that begins with an immature female character's identity crisis and ends with a blissful union that recognizes the intrinsic value of the main character, who has turned into a man who is considerate of the women. Therefore, romance plays the role of pursuit of the 'female utopian fantasy' and at the same time a reconciliation of women to patriarchy. Feminist critics of the day criticized this argument. However, reading romance is a 'feminine reading', and romance is literature about the functional relationship between women's lives and patriarchy. Yet the interpretation could differ depending on the different viewpoints and definitions of the women's utopian fantasy. In recent years, the conditions of female reader's lives, awareness and imagination have been changing rapidly. As a result, the female utopian fantasy has also changed significantly. Nevertheless, women's lives in the real patriarchal system are still contradictory, and their adventurous imagination is spreading in alternative spaces such as the subculture. In this regard, the question is about the definition of romance and the meanings of romance research are still important task.