Atopic moments in the square: a report on despair and hope after the Candlelight Revolution in South Korea

Abstract

Over the past ten years, South Korea has seen an alarming rise in hatred and anti-progressivism among its youth. Considering South Korea's remarkable string of successes with democratization, including the miracle of the Candlelight Revolution in 2016-2017, it is almost inconceivable to see its modern youth adopt 'Hell Choson' as a rallying cry and take pleasure in bullying the weak and marginalized. Therein lies an uncanny discrepancy: astounding achievement in the democratization movement juxtaposed with widespread disillusionment. This inconsistency also manifests itself as an inexorable generational conflict between the establishment and the youth, who have grown up in the shadow of a historically powerful establishment called the '386 Generation'. The dilemma the young generation face is this: they refuse to be interpellated by the '386 Regime', but they also struggle to forge their own agency. In order to shed light on this issue, three literary works written by young writers will be reviewed: Chang Kang-Myoung's [& xc7a5;, 2015. & xd55c;& xad6d;& xc774; & xc2eb;& xc5b4;& xc11c; [Because I Hate Korea], Seoul: & xbbfc;& xc74c;& xc0ac; [Mineumsa]], Yoon Go-Eun's [& xc724;& xace0;& xc740;, 2019. & xbd80;& xb8e8;& xc5d0; & xd3c9;& xc591;& xc774; & xc788;& xb2e4;& xba74; [If There is Pyongyang in the Blue Marble], Paju: & xbb38;& xd559;& xb3d9;& xb124; [Munhakdongne]], and Hwang Jung-Eun's [& xd669;& xc740;, 2019. & xb514;& xb514;& xc758; & xc6b0;& xc0b0; [DD's Umbrella], Paju: & xcc3d;& xbe44; [Changbi Publisher]]. All three texts express the disillusionment and hopelessness of South Korea's youth. However, there is a notable difference between DD's Umbrella and the other two texts regarding disillusionment. While the latter texts mirror the youth's detachment from dreary reality and seek solace through escape, the former digs into the bottom of the disillusionment by continuously revisiting the moments of revolutions. Mulling over the meaning of 'the banality of evil' and its relationship with revolutions, Hwang acutely examines the mechanism through which revolutionary vitality tends to be absorbed in a rigid system and replaced by the world of common sense.