한국 웹툰 ‘동물툰’에 나타난 힐링의 이데올로기

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how the representation of non-human animals and healing discourses are combined in Korean animal-toons. The term ‘animal toon’ refers to a subgenre of Korean webtoons that mainly deals with the experiences of raising animals. It grew up in the social, economic, and cultural context of the so-called ‘The age of 10 million of pets’ and was heavily influenced by the phenomenon of "healing" as a secular self-improvement discourse. The popular and academic discourse of companion animals is organized around the ‘pet effect’ which refers to the psychological and physical benefits of the animals. Animal toons are a cultural practice that is produced within and reinforces this discourse. In Chapter 2, I examined animal toons that feature humans finding solace in animals. In these narratives, humans are the ones who endow animals with the characteristic of 'unconditional love' and derive psychological benefits from it. Korean animal toons have reinforced this human-nonhuman economic relationship by portraying animals as ‘the lovable’ but on the other hand, Korean animal toons also point to the problem of human psychological exploitation of animals. Recent animal toons are eager to reproduce the catastrophe that can occur when animals fail to live up to expectations of lovability. In Chapter 3, I explored the ways in which animal cartoons reinforce discourse of ‘healing’ by emphasizing human self-discipline. More recent animal toons tend to emphasize the agency of humans in caring for animals. Humans are portrayed as agents who are able to establish positive relationships with animals after ‘recovering’ a strong self. The discourse of healing of animal toons ultimately narrativizes the strengthening of human agency. This study critically reflects on the ways in which Korean animal toons reproduce the ‘pet effect’, and examines the ways in which animal toons critically reinforce discourse of healing. In doing so, it critiques the ways in which Korean animal toons mobilize animals for healing purposes and reconstructs the ways in which discourse of healing permeate complex cultural practices.