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This study examines how Korean and Chinese media represented Pan Zhanle, the Chinese swimmer who set a world record at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Using a critical reading of media reports published after August 1, 2024, the study compares the dominant narratives constructed in the two countries. The findings show that Korean media portrayed Pan Zhanle through a dual frame: as an Asian athlete who broke Western dominance in swimming, but also as a suspicious Chinese athlete associated with doping allegations. In contrast, Chinese media represented Pan’s achievement as a symbol of national pride, China’s rising soft power, and the emergence of the East in a Western-dominated sport. Overall, this study argues that the same sports figure was reconstructed differently according to each country’s social and cultural context, revealing how sports media discourse produces nationalism, othering, and cultural identity. This study examines how Korean and Chinese media represented Pan Zhanle, the Chinese swimmer who set a world record at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Using a critical reading of media reports published after August 1, 2024, the study compares the dominant narratives constructed in the two countries. The findings show that Korean media portrayed Pan Zhanle through a dual frame: as an Asian athlete who broke Western dominance in swimming, but also as a suspicious Chinese athlete associated with doping allegations. In contrast, Chinese media represented Pan’s achievement as a symbol of national pride, China’s rising soft power, and the emergence of the East in a Western-dominated sport. Overall, this study argues that the same sports figure was reconstructed differently according to each country’s social and cultural context, revealing how sports media discourse produces nationalism, othering, and cultural identity.

This study examines how AI mediated civic participation has been institutionalised across three Northeast Asian states, South Korea, Japan, and China and how their distinct political institutional contexts shape these patterns. Despite shared developmental state legacies, Confucian cultural heritage, and world class digital infrastructure, the three countries display strikingly divergent trajectories of AI enabled participation in terms of depth and citizen autonomy. Adopting a Most Similar Systems Design (MSSD), we triangulate evidence from the UN E Government Development Index (EGDI), Oxford Government AI Readiness Index (GARI), Stanford AI Index 2025, Freedom House's Freedom on the Net, the V Dem Digital Society Project, and operational statistics of national civic participation platforms. Findings show that South Korea?world leading in EGDI (0.957, 3rd in 2024) and 3rd in GARI (79.98)?nevertheless suffers from bureaucracy led top down platform design that constrains substantive feedback loops. Japan, despite ranking first in the E Participation Index (2022), exhibits institutional friction between consensus oriented nemawashi culture and the Digital Agency's post 2021 reforms. China combines massive throughput (Beijing's 12345 hotline processed 24,195,000 cases in 2024 with 95%+ satisfaction) with extreme online freedom restriction (FOTN 9/100), embodying a controlled responsiveness logic. These divergences are not driven by technological capacity alone but by how developmental state administrative legacies, regime openness, and civil society autonomy structurally configure AI deployment. We argue that all three states share the common tension between ‘formal expansion’ and ‘substantive autonomy constraint’ of participation, and propose two governance principles?algorithmic transparency and accountability linkage as a minimum shared baseline.

This study examines the structural changes in security relations among Korea, China, and Japan after the deployment of THAAD from the perspective of Strategic Triangle Theory. Using Dittmer's Strategic Triangle Theory as its analytical framework, it analyzes major diplomatic and security developments after THAAD, including China's informal retaliation, the conclusion of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) between Korea and Japan, the strengthening of the Indo-Pacific strategy, and the institutionalization of security cooperation among Korea, the United States, and Japan. It also considers how shifts in foreign strategy under the Park Geun-hye, Moon Jae-in, Yoon Suk Yeol, and Lee Jae-myung administrations shaped this structural transformation. The findings show that the THAAD deployment functioned as a critical turning point that destabilized the previous cooperation-oriented structure of Korea-China-Japan relations. As the cooling of China-Korea relations, the restoration and institutionalization of Korea-Japan security cooperation, and the intensification of strategic vigilance between China and Japan overlapped, trilateral relations gradually moved away from a cooperation-oriented structure toward a V-shaped containment structure centered on the security domain. Although the Lee Jae-myung government's pragmatic diplomatic approach and its efforts to maintain stable relations with China suggest the possibility of partial adjustment, it is still premature to interpret such developments as a structural restoration. By conceptualizing Korea-China-Japan relations as an interconnected trilateral structure, this study offers a more structural explanation of changes in the Northeast Asian security order and demonstrates the usefulness of Strategic Triangle Theory in analyzing regional security restructuring.

This study aims to analyze the patterns of backchannel expressions presented in intermediate Korean language textbooks used in Chinese universities and to suggest implications for future textbook development and the teaching and learning of backchannel expressions. For this purpose, eleven volumes from four Korean language textbook series published in Korea and China were analyzed, focusing on the quantitative distribution, functional types, and presentation methods of backchannel expressions in dialogues and listening passages. The findings are as follows. First, considerable imbalance was found in the frequency and distribution of backchannel expressions across textbooks, and the proportion of backchannel use was significantly lower than that observed in authentic Korean native speaker discourse. This suggests that current textbooks do not sufficiently reflect the dynamic nature of real spoken interaction. Second, backchannel expressions were heavily concentrated on signals of understanding and agreement, whereas functions related to empathy, mitigated negative expressions, and judgment-withholding expressions appeared only rarely or were absent in some Chinese-published textbooks. Such imbalance may limit learners’ pragmatic competence and their ability to respond appropriately in authentic communicative situations. Third, most textbooks merely exposed learners to backchannel expressions within dialogues, while explicit explanations, contextualized examples, and systematic practice activities were insufficient. Based on these findings, this study argues that Korean language textbooks should more actively reflect authentic spoken discourse and present diverse backchannel functions in a balanced manner. Furthermore, backchannel expressions should be treated as important pragmatic and cultural elements of communication, and systematic instructional activities should be developed to enhance learners’ discourse competence in real communicative contexts.

This study reexamines the reception of Isang Yun within the Western contemporary music world, critically challenging conventional accounts that interpret it as a simple outcome of cultural exchange or aesthetic expansion. Drawing on the concept of Orientalism proposed by Edward Said, this study analyzes the structural conditions and mechanisms through which non-Western music attains visibility and legitimacy within Western discourse. It argues that Yun’s music and life were constituted within a ‘double narrative’, in which the representation of Eastern thought, mastery of Western avant-garde compositional techniques, and the Cold War-era narrative of political victimhood were intricately intertwined. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that the aesthetic crisis and the resulting “void of meaning” faced by Western high modernist music in the 1950s and 1960s functioned as structural conditions that prompted the incorporation of non-Western thought. In this context, Daoist concepts in Yun’s music are understood not as autonomous philosophical expressions, but as symbolic resources translated to fulfill the demands of Western discourse. Through analysis of his works, the study examines how Eastern sonic and philosophical elements are reconfigured within Western notational systems and compositional frameworks. Meanwhile, Yun’s notion of “music between worlds” has often been interpreted as a radical gesture that transcends binary categorizations. However, this study critically argues that such a formulation simultaneously displaces his music from verifiable aesthetic criteria, functioning as a discourse that defers critical evaluation. From this perspective, Yun’s “Orientality” is not the manifestation of an autonomous identity, but rather a construct shaped within the legitimizing structures of Western contemporary music discourse. In conclusion, this study does not seek to deny Yun’s artistic achievements. Rather, by exposing the structures of symbolic protection and exemption surrounding his work, it calls for restoring his music to a space of critical inquiry and debate.

This study empirically examines the enjoyment patterns and learning preferences regarding Korean historical content among 365 Japanese viewers who voluntarily consume Korean historical video content. The analysis shows that, within this respondent group, both initial exposure to and continued enjoyment of Korean history were largely mediated by visual media, including dramas, films, and YouTube videos. The central finding of this study is the distinction between viewers’ affective preferences and their intentions for systematic learning. While a large proportion of respondents (78.9%) identified the Joseon dynasty as their favorite period, the largest proportion (34.0%) wished to begin their historical learning chronologically with the Gojoseon period. An exploratory chi-square analysis indicated a marked difference between the response distributions for favorite historical period and preferred starting point for learning (χ²(5) = 251.19, p < .001). In addition, respondents showed a strong preference for learning centered on historical figures (47.9%), with particular interest in Joseon kings across the early, middle, and late periods. Responses regarding the period of Japanese imperial rule also revealed a separation between affective preference and cognitive interest: while this period was rarely chosen as a favorite period (0.8%), it was more frequently selected as a period respondents wanted to know more about (10.1%), although only 3.0% wished to begin their learning from this period. These findings suggest that Korean history education utilizing visual media should distinguish between the enjoyment phase and the learning phase, while connecting familiar historical content to a more systematic understanding of Korean history. This study provides empirical, learner-centered data that can inform the design of Korean language education and Korean history education for Japanese learners.

The Hadong-Gwangyang Seomjingang River Jaecheop hand-gathering fishery, a clam-harvesting tradition of over 110 years, was designated Korea’s 7th Nationally Important Fisheries Heritage (2018) and became the first Korean fishery inscribed on FAO’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS, 2023). Yet amid an aging fishing population and declining resources, its tourism-resource development remains limited. This study proposes a digitally integrated tourism experience model by combining Milgram and Kishino’s (1994) Reality-Virtuality Continuum with Pine and Gilmore’s (1999) Four Realms of Experience (4Es), two frameworks from separate lineages (computer science/HCI and management/tourism) that no prior study within this review’s scope had explicitly mapped together. The resulting SRCH-DCTEM (Seomjin River Clam Harvesting?Digital Convergence Tourism Experience Model) comprises three axes: MR-based 4Es content, a smart-tourism platform spanning pre-visit, on-site, and post-visit phases, and an Emotional Experience Design layer. Each experience is matched to its optimal medium along the MR continuum (Education→AR, Entertainment and Aesthetic→MR, Escapist→VR), implemented through a three-stage roadmap. The study further specifies the social conditions for sustainable operation, including the digital adoption of fishers and dure communities, coordination with active fishing zones, and community governance. As a modular framework, the model is transferable to other Nationally Important Fisheries Heritage and to GIAHS fisheries abroad, such as Japan’s Nagaragawa Ukai and China’s Qingtian rice-fish system. As a conceptual, literature-based proposal, it leaves empirical validation and economic feasibility to future research.

This study develops a reproducible analytical framework to compare the time?cost efficiency of low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) delivery and ground delivery under identical operational conditions in South Korea, limited to daytime operations between 06:00 and 22:00 and distances of less than 5 km. Based on a supply chain performance perspective, this study proposes a quantitative model that integrates last-mile operational mechanisms into a Time?Cost Efficiency Index (CEI). The model incorporates labor and energy costs and is applied to three distances of 1.5 km, 3.0 km, and 4.5 km under conservative, neutral, and optimistic scenarios. Using a baseline scenario of 3.0 km and λ = 0.5, this study conducts a ±10% one-at-a-time sensitivity analysis, focusing on aerial route linearization and ground detour factors. The results show that, at 3.0 km, UAV delivery reduces unit service costs by approximately 47% compared to ground delivery, with estimated costs of KRW 602 and KRW 1,152, respectively. The CEI increases with distance under the neutral and optimistic scenarios, suggesting that UAV delivery becomes more efficient within the short-distance range. Fuel price fluctuations have the greatest impact on ground delivery costs, whereas routing and geometric factors most strongly affect CEI. These findings indicate that UAV delivery is not universally superior, but becomes advantageous when reduced ground detours, stable operating conditions, and appropriate short-distance route structures are combined. This study provides a transparent framework for evaluating last-mile delivery efficiency and practical implications for route design, drone deployment, fuel cost management, and low-altitude logistics planning.

This study comparatively analyzes three North Korea?Russia treaties ? the 1961 Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, the 2000 Treaty of Friendship, Good- Neighborliness and Cooperation, and the 2024 Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership ? to explain why each treaty was concluded, what it stipulated, and to what extent it was implemented. Drawing on realism, neorealism, and alliance theory, the study examines how the structure of the international system conditioned the strategic needs of Russia and North Korea, which in turn shaped the character and implementation of each treaty. The 1961 treaty, forged under Cold War bipolarity, established a formal military alliance with an automatic intervention clause, yet Soviet strategic flexibility prevented its actual implementation in crises such as the Pueblo incident. The 2000 treaty, concluded under U.S. unipolarity, replaced military commitments with ambiguous consultative clauses, yielding only limited practical cooperation. The 2024 treaty, signed amid the transition toward multipolarity accelerated by Russia's prolonged war in Ukraine and tightening Western sanctions, is characterized in this study as a “conditional military alliance”: it codifies obligations of military assistance ? qualified by provisos invoking the UN Charter and domestic law ? and has already seen unprecedented implementation, including large-scale munitions transfers and troop deployments. Nevertheless, the comparison reveals that treaty implementation across all three periods has depended on whether Russia possessed strategic alternatives to North Korea. This pattern of strategic flexibility renders the 2024 treaty structurally unstable: should the war in Ukraine end or Russia?West relations be recalibrated, North Korea?Russia ties are likely to face significant realignment. These findings carry important implications for the security architecture of Northeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula.

When looking at the activities of Queen ‘Fujing(婦妌)’ through Oracle Bone Script, she had a firm economic status. She was particularly in charge of managing agriculture, so there are many articles related to agriculture. King ‘Wuding(武丁)’ entrusted her with the important task of grain supply. So far, we have looked at the queen called ‘Fujing(婦妌)’ during the Shang Dynasty, and it can be summarized as follows. First, the king called ‘Wuding(武丁)’ expanded the country's ruling base by conciliating several countries through marriage, and ‘Fujing(婦妌)’ was also a woman who had been chosen as a queen from ‘Jingfang(井方)’ for that purpose. Second, the world's largest bronze cauldron discovered in 1938 confirmed her as Queen ‘Wu(戊)’ of ‘Wuding(武丁)’. Third, it was found that the ‘Fujing(婦妌)’ received and managed land from the ‘Wuding(武丁)’ presided over various ancestral rites of the Shang Dynasty, and was pay tribute. Fourth, it can be seen that the ‘Fujing(婦妌)’ was in charge of managing the turtle shell used for divination. Fifth, it was found that the ‘Fujing(婦妌)’ was the leading agricultural officer of the Shang Dynasty and was responsible for directing and supervising the sowing and harvesting of grain. Sixth, ‘Fujing(婦妌)’ was also a general who participated in the war and made a valiant achievement by defeating the enemy.

This study provides a corpus-based analysis of the pragmatic functions of sudu (‘speed’) and the diachronic shifts in its discursive strategies in the People's Daily from 1963 to 1979. Drawing on 12,711 KWIC instances from 221,281 news articles, it combines speech act, evaluative language, and discourse-strategy analyses with semantic-type distribution and metaphor-related collocational patterns. The distribution of semantic types associated with sudu varied significantly across periods, χ²(32) = 1,683.48, p < .001: the early Cultural Revolution (1966～1969) saw a 17.5 percentage- point increase in the “revolutionary speed” type, whereas the post-Cultural Revolution period (1977～1979) showed a 16.1 percentage-point increase in the “developmental speed” type. Speech act analysis revealed that directive functions accounted for 48.4% overall, while expressive functions rose sharply to 39.4% and assertive functions declined to 18.8% at the peak of the Cultural Revolution in 1968, indicating a convergence of expressive and mobilizing functions. Evaluative analysis showed positive polarity at 74.0% overall, with a marked concentration of 91～92% in 1967～1968. Cross-analysis of semantic types and metaphor-related collocational domains showed a significant statistical association, χ²(35) = 5,704.64, p < .001, Cramer's V = 0.268: the “revolutionary speed” type co-occurred more frequently with passion-related markers (z = 47.82), whereas the “developmental speed” type co-occurred more frequently with upward-movement markers (z = 13.97). These findings suggest that shifts in sudu's semantic-type distribution were consistently linked with changes in its pragmatic functions and discursive features.

This study examines how the concept of naturalism formulated by Emile Zola was transformed through its reception in Japan and how that transformed discourse was critically appropriated by Lu Xun.Unlike Western literary movements, which developed gradually through succession and reaction, East Asian literary modernity emerged through the rapid reception and selective adaptation of Western ideas in the early twentieth century. In China, Western literary thought was introduced not directly but through Japan and was reconfigured according to local historical and social conditions. Realism shaped modern literary consciousness and later developed into naturalism, whose theoretical foundation can be traced to Zola’s conception of literature as an experimental field for observing society. When naturalism entered Japan, however, it underwent significant transformation and developed into a confessional mode of writing centered on the exposure of private life and inner consciousness. The publication of The Quilt by Tayama Katai and The Broken Commandment by Shimazaki Toson marked the consolidation of this tendency. Lu Xun encountered Japanese naturalism during his years of study in Japan from 1902 to 1909, but he did not simply adopt its confessional orientation and instead redirected techniques of naturalistic description toward a broader diagnosis of national and social crisis. In his literary practice, individual pathology became a symptom of collective spiritual paralysis and historical conditions, and naturalism in modern Chinese literature developed in close interaction with realism, enlightenment discourse, and critical social criticism. In the late 1920s, Lu Xun turned from fiction to essays and emphasized direct social criticism and ethical intervention, while the Chinese scholar Cheng Fangyu identified him as a naturalist writer. This study argues that the naturalistic elements in Lu Xun’s writings should be understood not as formal affiliation with a fixed literary school, but as historically transformed literary strategies shaped by the intellectual and social conditions of modern China.

This study re-reads Yu Hua's novel City of Fiction(Wencheng, 文城, 2021) through the antagonistic (拮抗) structure formed between its main and supplementary narratives, which, mediated by the shared space of “Wencheng,” continually interrogate the meaning of each other. In the main narrative, the criterion governing Lin Xiangfu's conduct is ren(仁, benevolence), embodied as the practice of the five virtues—gong(恭), kuan(寬), xin(信), min(敏), and hui(惠)—within a moral vacuum left by the collapse of social order. In the supplementary narrative, the criterion governing Xiaomei's conduct is survival; irreducible to any single motive, her choices, shaped by the constraints of the era and the imbalances of human relations, harbor an irreducible contradiction. “Wencheng” stands as the symbolic junction of this antagonism: a name without referent, whose very absence and fictionality paradoxically drive Lin Xiangfu's concrete ethical practice. The antagonism is consummated within the reader. Suspended between the ignorance of the main narrative and the truth of the supplementary narrative, Xiaomei's sincerity can be confirmed neither as falsehood nor as truth, and the supplementary narrative thereby renders the ren of the main narrative undecidable. Lin Xiangfu realizes ren without ever knowing the truth, yet for the reader that ren is no longer self-evident. As the perspectives of the two narratives collide within the reader, the final judgment on the work's meaning remains the reader's to make.

This study empirically examines the educational effectiveness of an EduTech-integrated course on Chinese Buddhist cultural heritage, focusing on improvements in learners' digital literacy and cultural convergence competency. The course, conducted in the first semester of 2026 at the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of D University, integrated multiple EduTech tools, including generative AI (ChatGPT), VR/AR-based virtual heritage exploration, digital content creation tools (Miricanvas), and team-based presentation projects. Eleven undergraduate students participated in pre- and post-course surveys measuring three competency areas: cultural literacy, digital literacy, and learning attitude/self-directed learning. Quantitative analysis included paired-sample t-tests, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and Cohen's d effect sizes, while qualitative analysis applied thematic analysis to open-ended responses. The internal consistency of the instrument was confirmed (Cronbach's α = .698 ～.925). The results showed statistically significant improvements with large effect sizes across all three areas: cultural literacy (M=2.56→3.95, t=-6.678, p<.001, d=2.01), digital literacy (M=3.27→4.36, t=-6.083, p<.001, d=1.83), and learning attitude/self-directed learning (M=4.14→4.64, t=-3.383, p=.007, d=1.02). The largest gains were observed in basic understanding of Chinese Buddhist culture (Δ=+2.00) and VR/AR utilization skills (Δ=+1.36). Wilcoxon signed-rank test results were consistent with parametric findings, supporting the robustness of the conclusions despite the small sample size. Qualitative analysis revealed that learners particularly valued AI-based exploratory learning, prompt engineering skill development, and team-based collaborative presentations. The findings suggest that EduTech-integrated cultural education effectively promotes the simultaneous development of cultural literacy and digital competencies, providing an empirical foundation for innovative pedagogical models in university Chinese language and culture education in the era of digital transformation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the external perceptions and narrative strategies of Chinese people in modern Chinese language textbooks. Entering the modern era, the Chinese faced embarrassing diplomatic relations. China was falling from an emperor's country to a common state. This paper examined China's attitudes and perceptions toward foreign countries in this process through modern Chinese language textbooks. As a result of reviewing elementary school Chinese textbooks from the 1900s to the 1930s, China's perception of foreign countries went through three stages of change. The first stage (1900-10s) is a period of loss of tributes. China, which has gone from an emperor to an ordinary country, has engaged in dual diplomacy, claiming a tribute system to East Asian countries in terms of diplomacy, while accepting a treaty system against Western powers. In the second stage (1920s), the attitude of accepting that China is a common country and trying to learn advanced cultures is remarkable. By the third stage of the 1930s, the textbook again emphasized patriotism. As awareness of the tea colony strengthened, the textbook devoted a large amount of time to appeal to the people to patriotism and totalitarianism, calling for them to be wary of world powers and to protect independence. Looking at the narrative strategies that appeared in Chinese textbooks during this period, the following characteristics can be found. First, the authors tried to enhance the learning effect by mobilizing various methods such as letters, newspaper articles, and illustrations. Second, the delivery effect was doubled by using appropriate narrative strategies. Third, all texts are linked to the modern planning of modern textbooks.

In recent years, ‘landscape sketching from life’ has gradually moved beyond specialized art training to become a more prevalent social and cultural practice. Using grassroots sketching activities in Qingdao and other regions as a case study, we see participants spanning diverse ages, occupations, and cultural backgrounds: from retirees picking up their brushes once again and white-collar workers escaping the office on weekends, to young parents sharing the beauty of nature with their children. Although their motivations differ, they find a shared resonance in this practice that demands both patience and focus. This paper situates the ‘sketching fever’ within the context of China’s social transformation, examining it through the lenses of practical motivations, spatial experience, temporal perception, and social interaction. Current evidence suggests that the popularity of landscape sketching is linked, on one hand, to evolving leisure patterns following improved material conditions. On the other hand, it serves as a vital means for individuals to reconnect with local spaces and sustain traditional aesthetic experiences. Notably, these spontaneously formed painting communities often feature loose structures and low barriers to entry; this openness, in turn, fosters authentic social bonds among participants. Furthermore, the participation of Korean practitioners imbues this practice with a distinct cross-cultural fluidity. It reflects the openness and inclusivity of contemporary Chinese culture in the realm of daily life, evolving beyond a mere exchange of artistic techniques into a micro-mechanism for ‘cultural empathy.’ With the proliferation of digital media and deepening international exchange, this practice is poised to further transcend geographical and cultural boundaries, serving as an important bridge that connects everyday aesthetic experiences across a broader region.

Most of the studies on the analysis of the Korean adverb response of the compound verb「～au」mainly focus on the appearance and frequency of use of adverbs in Korean. In order for Korean Japanese learners to use the compound verb「～au」, clear semantic analysis and consideration are required. Therefore, this study attempts to review and present the Korean adverb response pattern according to the meaning analysis of the compound verb「～au」 based on the contextual relationship. First, we examine the form of Korean adverb or adverb phrase response according to the meaning of the compound verb「～au」, and then consider the type of Korean adverb or adverb phrase response of the compound verb「～au」that changes in the context's relationship. Through example sentences, this study attempts to understand the corresponding form of Korean adverbs or adverbial phrases in the compound verb「～au」. To this end, we select the Japanese contemporary novel, its script, and the Korean Internet daily newspaper and its version for a limited time, extract sentences containing the compound verb「～au」, and find out the corresponding form of Korean adverbs or adverbial phrases. Korean adverbs corresponding to the compound verb「～au」appear in various ways, and the meaning of J(V1) is that the remaining ?J(V1+～au) ⇒ K(Adv+V1)? corresponds to various Korean adverbs, and the adverbs are modified before J(V1). The types in which the Korean adverbs corresponding to the compound verb「～au」did not appear are ?J(V1+～au) ⇒ K(V1)? in which the meaning of (V1) remained and ?J(V1+～au) ⇒ K(V)」in which the meaning of J(V1) did not remain. In addition, in the case of ?J{Adv+(V1+～au)} ⇒ K{Adv+(V1)}?, which appeared in the form of a single adverb prior to the compound verb「～au」, it cannot be regarded as the emergence of a Korean adverb corresponding to the compound verb「～au」, so it should be viewed as a type that did not appear.

This study investigates the ontological configuration of “pilgrimage” in Haruki Murakami’s Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (2013) and Kafka on the Shore (2002). Although previous scholarship has emphasized symbolic motifs, psychoanalytic interpretations, and mythic frameworks within individual texts, comparatively little attention has been given to movement as a structural mechanism that transforms the subject’s mode of being across these two novels. Drawing on Kawai Hayao’s reading of Kafka on the Shore as a “mono-gatari (物語) novel,” in which the “flow of mono” is rendered visible through characters who occupy the position of mediator rather than that of autonomous agent, this article reconceptualizes pilgrimage not as a literal journey or as a single-stage rite of passage, but as a recurrent, mediatory event in which the subject is traversed by a flow larger than the self. Both novels begin with protagonists positioned in states of absence or existential void; however, the nature of this absence differs substantially. In Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki, Tsukuru’s emptiness emerges from social exclusion and the breakdown of relational identity, and his journey unfolds within empirical reality. By contrast, Kafka on the Shore presents a more radical rupture: Kafka and Nakata traverse mythic boundary spaces—forests and metaphysical “entrance stones”—where temporal continuity, identity, and world order are destabilized. Through a comparative analysis of (1) the structure of absence, (2) the spatial dynamics of pilgrimage, and (3) the protagonists’ eventual positioning within their respective worlds, this study argues that Murakami’s pilgrimage narratives operate on distinct ontological planes. While Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki rearticulates relational identity within social reality, Kafka on the Shore reconfigures the subject’s relation to the structure of the world itself. Pilgrimage, therefore, functions not as escape but as a process through which absence is confronted and the subject’s place within reality is renegotiated.