[Article] Narrative of “Alternative” and Narrative of “Transition” / Hwang Jung-a
The Quarterly Changbi 200, Summer 2023
Abstract
Agreeing with the assessment that the capitalist system is unsustainable and has reached its last stage, literary critic Hwang Jung-a analyzes how the narrative of capitalism has appeared in Korean literature. After examining this narrative, often found in various cultural contents, including literary ones, that claims there is no alternative to capitalism, Hwang finds clues of a narrative exploration of the overcoming of the current system in Jeong Ji A’s novel My Father’s Liberation Diary. She guides us to see the power and significance of this novel as a narrative of transition, by pointing out the tension between capitalist reality and socialist belief, rich revelations of radicalness inherent in the tension, and characters who both live their daily lives and practice what they believe, thus performing the double tasks of modernity, that is, adapting to and overcoming it.