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The Curious Case of South Korean Science Fiction: A Hyper-Technological Society’s Call for Speculative Imagination

The Curious Case of South Korean Science Fiction: A Hyper-Technological Society’s Call for... by Haerin Shin Korea, reminding the public of their country's status as the newly risen IT capital in the global community. This recognition indeed extends far beyond the Korean borders; in the recent film Cloud Atlas (2012), for instance, the Western gaze shifts its focus to (Neo-) Seoul as the site of our time's techno-orientalist future-scape,1 instead of adhering to the classic imageries of Tokyo or Hong Kong as we have seen in Blade Runner (1982) or Ghost in the Shell (1995).2 Curiously, however, science fiction as a literary representation of the technologized science South Korea thrives on nowadays never appears to have gained traction in Korea's own cultural imaginary.3 The incongruity between the high level of technological immersion seen in South Korea's contemporary lifestyle and its surprisingly sparse representation in the literary realm can 1. As well as David Mitchell's novel of the same title, the original inspiration for the film. 2. Ghost in the Shell (film) was produced in Japan, but director Oshii Mamoru effectively appropriates techno-orientalist tropes by setting the tale in a panAsian amalgam of a city, where the bustling backstreet markets and towering skyscrapers blend together and oscillate between the mystically exotic and http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Azalea: Journal of Korean Literature & Culture University of Hawai'I Press

The Curious Case of South Korean Science Fiction: A Hyper-Technological Society’s Call for Speculative Imagination

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University of Hawai'I Press
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Copyright © University of Hawai'I Press
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1944-6500
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Abstract

by Haerin Shin Korea, reminding the public of their country's status as the newly risen IT capital in the global community. This recognition indeed extends far beyond the Korean borders; in the recent film Cloud Atlas (2012), for instance, the Western gaze shifts its focus to (Neo-) Seoul as the site of our time's techno-orientalist future-scape,1 instead of adhering to the classic imageries of Tokyo or Hong Kong as we have seen in Blade Runner (1982) or Ghost in the Shell (1995).2 Curiously, however, science fiction as a literary representation of the technologized science South Korea thrives on nowadays never appears to have gained traction in Korea's own cultural imaginary.3 The incongruity between the high level of technological immersion seen in South Korea's contemporary lifestyle and its surprisingly sparse representation in the literary realm can 1. As well as David Mitchell's novel of the same title, the original inspiration for the film. 2. Ghost in the Shell (film) was produced in Japan, but director Oshii Mamoru effectively appropriates techno-orientalist tropes by setting the tale in a panAsian amalgam of a city, where the bustling backstreet markets and towering skyscrapers blend together and oscillate between the mystically exotic and

Journal

Azalea: Journal of Korean Literature & Culture – University of Hawai'I Press

Published: May 3, 2013

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