Journal of Maritime Literature and Culture
JMLC, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2026, pp.47-61.
Print ISSN: 3107-1821; Online ISSN: 3107-183X
Journal homepage: https://www.mlcjournal.com
DOI：https://doi.org/10.64058/JMLC.26.1.04
The Historical Evolution of “Blue Story” in Korea
Focusing on Fiction, Film, and Drama of the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries
Dae-geun Lim
Abstract: This paper proposes “Blue Story” as an analytical framework grounded in the historical evolution of maritime narratives in Korean literature, film, and TV-OTT drama across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, aiming to intervene in the predominantly Western-centric discourse of Blue Humanities. Given Korea’s geographical condition as a peninsula, the ocean has functioned not merely as a backdrop but as a profound narrative space where Korean society has articulated its deepest anxieties, memories, and aspirations. The argument traces the trajectory of the Korean “Blue Story” through three interconnected phases, “sea of memory,” “sea of disaster,” and “sea of care and ecology.” This paper argues that the “Blue Story” constitutes a coherent narrative genealogy through which Korean society has repeatedly negotiated its most consequential conflicts and losses. By providing a cross-medial, historically grounded framework, this paper seeks to enrich Korean cultural studies and offer Blue Humanities a vital non-Western case study that extends its theoretical horizons toward a more global perspective.
Keywords: Blue Story; Blue Humanities; Korean Story; Memory; Disaster; Care; Ecology
Author Biography: Dae-Geun LIM is Professor of Digital Contents at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS). He holds a Ph.D. in Chinese Film Studies from HUFS. His research primarily focuses on Chinese films, Asian popular culture exchange and Hallyu, cultural content discourse, and cultural identity in storytelling. Focusing on the constantly evolving nature of human identity, he analyzes and interprets the most popular stories through a transidentity discourse. He has served as President of the Global Cultural Contents Association, President of the Korean Cultural Contents Critics Association, and Dean of the College of Culture and Technology at HUFS. He currently serves as President of the Korean Cinema Society, Director of the Asian Cultural Creativity Institute, Organizing Committee Chairman of the Jeonju International Short Film Festival, and Director of the China Film Forum. His recent publications include The Pattern of Humanity, Cultural Content Theory, and Cultural Content and Digital Content. E-mail: rooot@hufs.ac.kr.
题目：韩国“蓝色故事”的历史演变——以二十世纪和二十一世纪小说、电影与电视剧为中心
摘要：本文提出“蓝色故事”这一分析框架，以20世纪和21世纪韩国文学、电影、电视剧和串流剧中海洋叙事的历史演变为基础，旨在介入以西方为中心的“蓝色人文”话语体系。鉴于韩国地处半岛的地理条件，海洋不仅是背景，更是韩国社会表达其最深层焦虑、记忆和愿望的深刻叙事空间。本文通过“记忆之海”、“灾难之海”和“关怀与生态之海”这三个相互关联的阶段，追溯了韩国“蓝色故事”的轨迹。本文认为，“蓝色故事”构成了一个连贯的叙事谱系，韩国社会通过这一谱系反复应对其最具影响力的冲突和损失。通过提供一个跨媒介、以历史为基础的框架，本文旨在丰富韩国文化研究，并为“蓝色人文”提供一个重要的非西方案例研究，从而拓展其理论视野，使其走向更加全球化的视角。
关键词：蓝色故事；蓝色人文；韩国故事；记忆；灾难；关怀；生态
作者简介：林大根是韩国外国语大学数字内容学教授，拥有韩国外国语大学华语电影学博士学位。他的研究主要集中于华语电影、亚洲流行文化交流与韩流、文化内容话语、文化认同和故事学等。他着眼于人类身份的不断演变，运用身份转换话语分析和解读最流行的故事。他曾任韩国全球文化内容学会会长、韩国文化内容评论协会会长以及韩国外国语大学文化科技学院院长。目前，他担任韩国电影学会会长、亚洲文化内容研究院院长、全州国际短片电影节组委会主席以及华语电影论坛主席。他的近期著作包括《人的纹样》《文化内容论》和《文化内容与数字内容》等。电子邮箱：rooot@hufs.ac.kr。
Received: 12 Mar 2026 / Revised: 5 Apr 2026 / Accepted: 12 Apr 2026 / Published online: 30 Apr 2026 / Print published: 30 May 2026.
