This presentation examines the emotional language surrounding the term “shachiku” (corporate livestock) through a close analysis of the narrative I Work at a Black Company and I Think I’m at My Limit (Watashi wa Burakku Kaisha ni Tsutometeirun daga, Mou Genkai Kamoshirenai), originally posted on 2channel (２ちゃんねる), Japan’s largest anonymous internet forum.

The text, which began as an anonymous testimony of workplace suffering, gained widespread attention and was later adapted into a novel and film. It reflects the exhaustion, alienation, and psychological entrapment experienced by workers under exploitative conditions in so-called “black companies.” Through this narrative, I explore how precarious labor is emotionalized, how shachiku identity is internalized, and how digital anonymity enables both confession and solidarity.

By situating this story within the broader context of 2channel discourse, I argue that the post functions not merely as personal catharsis but also as a collective emotional document, capturing the shared affect of a generation navigating unstable employment. This analysis contributes to an understanding of how digital narratives mediate labor emotions in contemporary Japanese culture.

My research will focus on the period from the birth of Korea's first dedicated game magazine, 『게임월드(Game World)』 (published by 미래시대, launched August 1990), to the emergence of 『게임매거진(Game Magazine)』 (published by 커뮤니케이션그룹, launched November 1994). 『Game Magazine』 was notable for systematically sectioning and covering not only games but also related media such as animation, models, and TRPGs.

Previously, game strategy guides were often just a section within student computer magazines like 『컴퓨터학습(Computer Study)』 (published by 민컴, launched November 1983). The advent of a dedicated game media meant that the other sections typically found in computer magazines had to be reconfigured within the new format of a game magazine. Therefore, the period from the inception of 『게임월드』 to the birth of 『게임매거진』 offers valuable insight into the journey of this nascent Korean media genre as it refined its unique format.

At the time, game magazines were seen as nearly the sole 'subculture information magazines' capable of providing systematic and historical knowledge and information about games in general, or various related contexts, that were interconnected and expansive, going beyond simply introducing or analyzing games." Considering that Japanese subculture magazines had already functioned as specialized media for their respective fields and developed their own unique formats in the 1980s, the nature of Korean game magazines suggests they couldn't simply mirror Japanese magazine formats. While Japan offered an endless supply of news suitable for magazines—covering games, animation, models, and more—the key challenge for early Korean game magazines was how to effectively arrange this content within a unique format.

Under the hypothesis that this search for a distinct format was the key keyword for the dawn of Korean game magazine history, this study will analyze 『게임월드』, 『게임뉴스(Game News)』 (published by 다선기업, launched August 1991), 『게임챔프(Game Champ)』 (published by 제우미디어, launched December 1992), and 『게이매거진』 as primary sources. By comparing their editorial formats and analyzing the discourses contained within them, this research aims to clarify how these media constructed sections beyond games, how they integrated other subcultures like animation, and how these elements gradually became formalized as staple content within the magazines.

This presentation examines the trends of the fantasy genre in major Korean and Japanese web novel platforms by comparing works categorized as fantasy based on platform-provided metadata. The analysis focuses on KakaoPage and Naver Series in Korea, and Shōsetsuka ni Narō and Kakuyomu in Japan. Using metadata such as genre tags, keywords, and story summaries, the study investigates the differences in thematic and narrative tendencies found in fantasy web novels across the two countries.

In this study, the term "fantasy genre" does not refer to its traditional literary definition, but rather to a practical classification system defined by each platform in accordance with user navigation and service design. Based on this framework, the presentation compares how fantasy web novels differ in narrative and thematic expression, aiming to highlight cultural distinctions in genre trends.

Through this analysis, the study reveals how fantasy web novels diverge between Korea and Japan, and explores the potential of data-driven methods in digital humanities for conducting cross-cultural genre comparison and platform-centered literary research.

This study conducts a comparative analysis of media discourses on the transitional period from the end of the Shōwa era to the beginning of the Heisei era, focusing on articles published between 1989 and 1996 in Asahi Shimbun’s online database and the Zainichi Korean magazine Chunggu. These two outlets—one a major Japanese national newspaper, the other an ethnic publication by the Korean diaspora in Japan—offer distinct perspectives on sociopolitical change during this era of transition. The quantitative phase extracts keywords from both databases and identifies those directly related to Shōwa and Heisei. These keywords are analyzed for relational patterns and used to filter articles for topic modeling and further keyword reanalysis. The qualitative phase examines representative articles from dominant topic clusters, analyzing their discursive structures and thematic orientations. Through this process, the study explores how Zainichi Koreans perceived the era shift, articulated their identity and direction, and how these representations differed from or intersected with narratives in Japanese mainstream media. Ultimately, this research aims to shed light on the cultural and ideological dynamics embedded in the media discourses of a society in historical transition.

A Comparative Analysis of Grave of the Fireflies and the Original Novel” examines the differences between Isao Takahata’s animated film and Akiyuki Nosaka’s original novella, analyzing why the film has often been interpreted as an anti-war narrative or a reflection of Japan’s victim consciousness. Although Takahata stated that his work was not intended as an anti-war film—arguing that true anti-war messages should address the causes of war—audiences inevitably perceive the tragedy of Seita and Setsuko as a condemnation of war. The study focuses on the contrasting portrayals of Seita: in the novel, he is depicted as helpless and passive, indirectly responsible for his sister’s death. In contrast, the film softens these traits, casting him more clearly as a victim of circumstance. This divergence obscures Takahata’s original intent to critique the emotional immaturity and lack of resilience in modern youth. The paper suggests that the failure of the audience to grasp this intent stems from the film’s narrative choices, which elicit sympathy for Seita. Ultimately, the study explores the gap between the director’s message and audience reception, emphasizing the importance of interpretation in media consumption.