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September 10, 2025

Let’s Become Dazzling Heroes of Capitalism: South Korean Perspectives on Japanese “Business Novels” in the 1970s and 1980s

Key Points

Japanese business novels influenced South Korean capitalism during the 1970s and 1980s, shaping cultural perspectives.
The boom in Japanese literature translations provided insights into the complexities of postcolonial relationships.
The exploration of domestic anxieties surrounding rapid economic development is deeply interwoven in this literary genre.
Business novels emerged as a means to navigate the evolving socio-cultural landscape of South Korea.

Abstract

After the overthrow of President Rhee Syngman (Yi Sŭngman) in 1960, South Korea experienced a boom in translations of Japanese literature. Japanese fiction has remained popular ever since, but the reception of these texts has always responded to the needs of the times. This article investigates South Korean perspectives on the popular fiction genre of “business novels” during the 1970s and 1980s, arguing that this literature served as a tool not only to address the complex postcolonial relationship with Japan but also to deal with domestic issues such as South Korea’s rapid economic development and the anxieties and desires it brought with it.

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Discussion

Authors

Nadeschda Bachem

Journals

European Journal of Korean Studies

Actions

Institutions

University of Bonn

References and Citations

Connected Papers

Building similarity graph...

Analyzing shared references across papers

Let’s Become Dazzling Heroes of Capitalism: South Korean Perspectives on Japanese “Business Novels” in the 1970s and 1980s

Key Points

Abstract

Citation Network

Connected Papers

Discussion

Authors

Journals

Actions

Institutions

References and Citations

Citation Network

Connected Papers

Discussion

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