데몬 소재 영화와 월딩 알레고리: <케이팝 데몬 헌터즈>・<귀멸의 칼날>・<나타> 시리즈의 비교를 중심으로

Abstract

One of the hottest topics in the global film industry in 2025 has undoubtedly been the phenomenon caused by three demon-themed animated films representing the three major countries of East Asia—Korea, China, and Japan: K-Pop Demon Hunters, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, and Ne Zha: The Demon Child Conquers the Sea. Although these three works share the common feature of centering on “demons” as their core motif, they differ significantly in terms of their media formats and content characteristics, as well as in their methods of employing demon characters and constructing narrative worlds. These differences have led the films to be consumed by audiences from diverse regions, social strata, and age groups, resulting in the formation of distinct modes of fandom. These works can be understood as products of world-making—namely, worlding—that are creatively constructed based on the differing cultural characteristics, perceptions of reality, and imaginations and aspirations toward the world found in Korea, China, and Japan. At the same time, they give rise to another chain of worlding through the processes of interpretation and reinterpretation carried out by audiences as consumers. In this sense, the allegory of worlding embedded within the characters and world-building of these narratives constitutes a key concept for deepening the understanding of the works themselves. This study, therefore, aims to examine the ways in how demons are utilized as characters and how narrative worlds are constructed through the lens of the concept of worlding, by comparing K-Pop Demon Hunters, Demon Slayer, and Ne Zha with the Avengers franchise, one of the most representative and highest-grossing film series in the West that vividly articulates the concept of “demons・monster” and its worldview in a different cultural context. Furthermore, through an interpretation of the allegories embedded in these works, this paper seeks to explore their affective-political implications.