Izvorni znanstveni članak
Trans-Boundaries of Culture: Webtoons and Films in Korea
Sogu Hong
; Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul
Sažetak
This article aims to analyze the characteristics of new media called ‘webtoon’ and the convergence and trans-boundary phenomenon between webtoon and film in South Korea. Webtoon is a compound word of ‘web’ and ‘cartoon’ and is a unique type of media content created and developed in Korea. Webtoon has been transformed into movies, dramas, animations and musicals, and has also influenced numerous cultural industries, including games and character goods. This study analyzes the process and characteristics of media conversion between webtoons and movies. It also analyzes whether the media conversion between webtoon and film is based on ‘One Source Multi Use (OSMU)’ or ‘Trans-media storytelling’, and what changes occur for the successful media conversion. Finally, this analysis explains the economic, social and cultural impact of trans-media phenomena between webtoons and films, and its implication and significance.
From the personal stories of everyday life to the social, political, even medical and scientific stories, the rich material of webtoon provides a solution to the problem of the limited contents of the film. Therefore, making already successful webtoons as movies is a good way to increase the possibility of success not only in domestic, but also in overseas market. In particular, the two media can play a role in driving mutual success. In other words, the medium that succeeds first will affect the success of the other medium. Until now, most of the Korean webtoon-based movies have been made in ‘OSMU’ style, but series in 2017 and 2018, were made in multi-media storytelling for the first time. While OSMU means repeated use of the story of a successful original, multi-media storytelling means that multiple media simultaneously develop new stories, rather than simply replicating content. Thus, we can expect from the phenomenon of multi-media storytelling that the interaction between the media becomes more active, the development of the content becomes more creative and aggressive, and the relationship between producers and consumers becomes more intimate. As a result, the economic ripple effect will be further increased by these changes. Furthermore, webtoons and webtoon-based movies are expected to be driving forces to promote another wave of Korean culture along with K-Dramas and K-Pop.
Ključne riječi
webtoon; media conversion; trans-media phenomena; K-Dramas; K-Pop
Hrčak ID:
230332
URI
Datum izdavanja:
18.12.2019.
Posjeta: 1.002 *