‘하찮음’의 생명력: 중국, 한국, 북한의 근로인민과 ‘너구리’ 서사
The Vitality of ‘Insignificance’: The “Raccoon Dog” Narrative and the People of China, South Korea, and North Korea
In China, South and North Korea, the archetype of the “raccoon dog” has appeared as a figure that alleviates human worries and sorrows through small transformations, disguises, and humor. Thanks to this very “insignificance,” the raccoon dot remains a familiar presence for today’s people, creating room for variation, in digital art culture.
The raccoon dog character is constructed differently depending on sociopolitical contexts, content creators, and contemporary issues.
In China, the narrative has seen relatively little involvement from the state or capital, making the raccoon dog code less prominent. However, in the mid-to-late 2010s, the raccoon symbol spread widely as generational problems faced by the youth emerged.
In Korea, raccoon dog characters are mainly driven by large corporations and the content industry, with prosumers adding variations, while the government appears as a latecomer. However, it shows weaknesses in terms of creativity and storytelling. Capital-driven approaches have a powerful but lacking long-term sustainability.
In North Korea, where state-driven initiatives are strong, the raccoon dog has appeared as a model for people since the late 1980s, although anti-model depictions also coexist. This ontological hybridity reflects the resilience and vitality of the raccoon dog story, which finds ways to survive under strong political control.
Due to the ambiguity and “insignificance” embedded in the raccoon dog code, it is difficult for dominant powers like capital, industry, or the state to fully absorb or standardize it into a singular image. Instead, through its ambiguity and clumsiness, the raccoon dog offers marginalized people in an era of “rationality” a way to reaffirm their existence and find the strength to move forward.
동북아시아문화학회 [The Association of North-east Asian Cultures]
설립연도
2000
분야
복합학>학제간연구
소개
동북아시아 문화의 다양성과 정체성을 연구 토론하고, 지역내 문화 교류의 다양한 모습을 연구하고 문화변동의 큰 틀을 집적함으로써 우리 민족 문화 및 상대 민족의 문화적 터전을 이해하여 문화공동체적 특성을 계발하고 상호 관련성의 강화를 유도하는 학술활동을 통해 동북아시아의 문화발전에 이바지함.