Abstract

As Pak Kyong-ni’s novel Toji has been utilized in various kinds of media including movies, dramas, and cartoons, it has been considered appropriate to touch the original as little as possible. But the recently released ‘Inmulyeoljeon’ disorganizes the original aggressively. In fact, it approaches the narrative with only one character as the main character. The purpose of this study is to analyze ‘Inmulyeoljeon’ and to examine the possibility of expanding the contents of popular culture by disorganizing the original. There are 18 pieces of ‘Inmulyeoljeon’ that have been released in ‘the Festival of Pak Kyong-ni Literature’ from 2011 to 2018, and 18 characters have been spotlighted so far. They can be divided into four types according to the characteristics of description. In the first type, the presenter intervenes as little as possible and quotes and reorganizes the original just as it is. The second type can be viewed as a supplementary story as the presenter imagines and adds contents that are not in the original. In the third type, the presenter acts as a storyteller, delivering to the audience interesting and moving stories about the character’s lifetime. Lastly, the fourth type seeks to aid readers in understanding the original better with specialized analysis and interpretation. The first type is advantageous as it allows us to have a similar experience to reading the original. However, as it strictly maintains the preservation of the original, it is insufficient in inducing the public to partake in independent as well as active cultural activities. The second and third types are beneficial as they encourage the public readers to imagine freely and allow them to be transferred from being just a reader to being a character or even a writer and may also vitalize the public as readers. The fourth type is advantageous because it can enhance the level of readers who have read the original faithfully; however, it still lacks as a text for readers who find it difficult reading the original. ‘Inmulyeoljeon’ shows us the possibility of creating new text that can be read with pleasure and easiness while actively disorganizing the original of the classic Toji. If more diverse fields are opened where anyone can be the author of ‘Inmulyeoljeon’, it will be possible to produce even more interesting and noticeable contents of popular culture afterwards.