A popular impact on the cover images of Ddak-ji-bon along side with the trend of novels, which is the first experience of that a picture was reproduced mechanically, enables us to look into visual preferences and intimate lives of the public at the ti...
A popular impact on the cover images of Ddak-ji-bon along side with the trend of novels, which is the first experience of that a picture was reproduced mechanically, enables us to look into visual preferences and intimate lives of the public at the time of their publication. By dating back to the images used on Ddak-ji-bon, this thesis aims to seek the reasons they catch people's attention. Ddak-ji-bon,
Ddak-ji-bon, a cultural genre which appeared in modern times, has an inclination toward the public in the field of their contents and forms. Especially, even though there were the unique cover images that were seen before, it was the fact that their value was overlooked. Therefore, this thesis focused on the cover images about the reason and the way Ddak-ji-bon acquired popularity.
Buddhist painting, the kind of Haengsil-do, illustrations of Chinese novels, Gososeol-do, and etc., which the people of the Chosun Dynasty era met in their everyday lives, visualized particular stories. Those images seemed to affect the images of Ddak-ji-bon directly or indirectly. To describe the condensed contents on limited screens effectively, special devices for scene formations are succeeded and used. Some images in the pictures have appeared repeatedly through generations. And demand for the folk paintings of the late Chosun Dynasty were reflected had been connected to the cover images of Ddak-ji-bon afterwards. Some images in Huaniaohua and Sipjangsaeng-do appears frequently, and subjects such as trees, clouds, the sun, cranes, peonies, lotuses, plantains, oddly shped stones and final class parties are repeated stereotypically or several images are compounded and used as symbolic icons or simple decorations. These contents are the results of that Memes, imitation genes, have worked on the cover images of Ddak-ji-bon vertically through generations.
Meanwhile, the images of Ddak-ji-bon (printing art) during the flowering time showed modern customs, such as a new fashion and free love, and the mechinery products of Western civilization, such as airplanes, trains, vessels, and cars. And they improved the reality of the works through the cover images that gave the world around them a sense of reality, and we can guess that the public recognized them as their own stories and liked them. In addition, the images of Ddak-ji-bon imitated Art Nouveau, a modern style of Western art, which met in the process of importing a new printing technique and the images or illustration images of modern Japanese and Chinese books. They also expanded realism, allowing a visual and image world that photos, a new technique, brought. These contents are the results of that Memes, imitation genes, have worked on the cover images of Ddak-ji-bon horizontally as tools of delivering the trend.
Popular culture deals with subject matters that anyone understands easily and loves. It also aims at a sale, so the production relies on consumers' tastes. Primarily, the cover images of Ddak-ji-bon that functioned as books' faces weren't so different. Suppliers who were conscious of consumers tried to put mainly the pictures that consumers would like on the cover images of Ddak-ji-bon in order to be equipped with appeal that makes books achieve success as products and effect of attention that attracts visual perception. The cover images of Ddak-ji-bon acquires popularity as the realities of modern times are imaged and imitated in order to involve the subjects that almost all of the people were familiar with, regardless of classes and status and satisfy readers' expectations who wanted some attractions.
It is worthwhile that this thesis took a look at the process of gaining their popularity of the images of modern publication by combining imitation that consists of pop culture and 'Meme theory' in conjunction with a study of visual images of printing publications that were neglected in the fields of fine arts. This thesis took a close look at correlations between folk paintings, which were the most popular in the Chosun Dynasty era, and the cover images of Ddak-ji-bon and also got into that pictures of stories shared with timeless similar images. I think that this is a tangible achievement.