This project examines how colonialism and political corruption led to the formation of Korean millennials’ han – the intergenerational trauma and collective sorrow felt by Korean people (Kim, 1985). Through an original practice as research novel titled 1986, this project explores how the conventions of the magical realism genre can be used to illustrate political and colonial oppression in ‘Hell Joseon’ (‘hellish Korea’) and their convergences with millennials’ han. Because han addresses trauma and grief as a collective experience rather than an individual one, 1986 also reframes Western paradigms of trauma.

1986 explores how millennials’ relationship with country and society shift with the ebb and flow of Korea’s politics and postcolonial repercussions with a focus on the 2014 Sewol Ferry Tragedy and the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye. These ideas are explored through the lens of the magical realism genre, which presents magical events as usual circumstances interwoven with realism (Zamora and Faris, 1995). Zamora and Faris also assert that magical realism also reflects history while 'addressing historical issues critically and thereby attempting to heal historical wounds’ (2004). Chun Myeong-kwan, Bora Chung, and Joseph Han have used magical realism to address the han of the Korea’s Post War period. I am building upon this by using the genre as a powerful strategy to represent and make visible the wounds of millennial han. 1986 will ultimately be accompanied by a thesis, which will delineate my research and offer a critical reflection of my findings.

Keywords: magical realism, colonialism, the MZ generation, Sewol Disaster, Park Geunhye

References: 

Kim, Yol-Kyu. 1985. Two Questions in Korean Literature. Seoul: Hakyonsa.

Zamora, Lois Parkinson, and Wendy B. Faris. 1995. Magical realism: Theory, History, Community. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press.