환몽과 회귀 서사의 변용 - 『구운몽』과 '재벌집 막내아들'의 서사 비교 연구 = The Transformation of Dream-Journey and Regression Narratives - A Comparative Analysis of Kuunmong and The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In twenty-first-century Korean society, where class mobility has become ingreasingly rigid and economic inequality has intensified, narratives driven by “regression” and “vicarious desire” have gained significant popular appeal.
This study examines this cultural trend through the lens of the traditional Korean drema-journey narrative by comparing the narrative structures of the late Joseon dynaty novel Kuunmong and the contemporary regression drama The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family. By reconstruction both works within the classical dream-journey framework-comprising the stages of pre-dream, in-dream, and post-awakening-this study investigates how the structural principles of the traditional genre have been inherite and transformend in modern storytelling.
The analysis reveals that both Kuunmong and The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family share a compensatory narrative mechanism in which the deficiencies of reality are addressed sithin a virtual space of dreams, fantasy, or regression. In Kuunmong, desire is fulfilled through the dual narrative of Seongin and Yang Soyu, ultimately culmingting in enlightenment informed by Buddhist concepts of reincarnation. In contrast, The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family centers on the dual identity of Yoon Hyun-woo and Jin Do-jun, whose acquisition of captitalist power is driven by privileged access to future knowledge-an extreme form of informational asymmetry.
However, unlike the classical dream-jounery narrative, which leads to introspection and transcendence, the modern regression narrative fail to fully inherit this reflective dimension and remains comfined within the logic of capitalist power, reducing desire fulfillment to sensory gratification.