This study examines the existence of individuals revealed in modern novels in the relationship with capitalism, since this process allows us to study the subjective meaning of an individual and the developmental aspects of modern novels. The aspects of individuals in modern novels examined through the three time lines become a way that enables to study the traces of the history of modern novels in contexts. This study examines the novels of Lee Sang, Lee Cheong-jun and Park Min-gyu.
In chapter Ⅱ, it explains Lee Sang’s novels as the alienation resulted from money. In chapter Ⅱ-1, it first studies modern senses and individual self in Lee Sang’s novels. Lee Sang shows the possibilities and limitation about the individual self-formation through the possession and exchange. In the novel Wing, the wife possesses a lot of objects including cosmetics. On the other hand, ‘I’ does not possess any objects. Even if ‘I’ desire to enlarge himself through his wife’s collected objects, the expansion of his personality is unable because basically those belong to his wife. Moreover, the wife owns money, the ultimate exchange value. However, ‘I’ is unable to understand the value of the exchange and the possession by money. On the contrary, Bongbyeolgi reveals that ‘I’ starts to understand the logic of exchange derived from modern money. ‘I’ and Keumhong in Bongbyeolgi recognize each other as separated existences by the relationship of exchange.
This chapter also examines the relationship of capitalistic stimulation and desire shown in Lee Sang’s novels. Lee Sang explains the relativity from capitalistic stimulations as dullness and boredom in his essays. Here, Lee Sang finds out that the capitalistic stimulation is the reconstruction of desires reorganized by self-perception. All the characters in Jijuhweshi are set up by the relationship through money. ‘I’ reconstructs his desire by others’ capitalistic stimulation. This capitalistic stimulation contrasted with destitute makes ‘I’ more sensitive about the sense toward desire. In wing, after experiencing the payment of money, ‘I’ figures out his status without money as deficiency by recognizing the condition of boredom with no stimulations. Eventually, the capitalistic stimulations conduct its role not only to encourage desires but also recognize the capitalistic deficiency.
In chapter Ⅱ-2, it explains extreme denials and pursuit that Lee Sang has. First, his denials to quantitative value can be found. Females are frequently shown in Lee Sang’s novels and they are usually described as whores. However, this does not mean the hatred toward women themselves. Lee Sang suggests a whore as the representative of capitalistic society that exchanges everything for money that stands for the highest value and shows his denial as the response to it. The narrative of wing suggests “I” as the axis of crucial changes; one is “I” who keeps collecting silver coins from his wife and the other is “I” who exchanges the silver coins for bills. After getting the bills that contains the quantitative value, “I” merely experiences the logic of modernity even if he is unable to fully understand the quantitative value. Afterward, Lee Sang’s negative consciousness is shown through the aspects of relational dissolution cause by the bills with the quantitative values.
Lee Sang also represents his thirst and pursuit for qualitative values. In his essays, he reveals his thirst for qualitative value through the concept of ‘holy mother’. Especially, in wing, ‘I’ pursues the relationship of pre-modern intimacy, the personal intimacy, with his wife. In this process, relational contradictions and gaps with his wife who internalizes the quantitative values occur.
In chapter Ⅲ, it explains Lee Cheong-jun’s novel as subordination and symptoms. In Lee Cheong-jun’s novels, capitalistic hierarchy and controlling ways are represented. In A man who has a baby, competitions are encouraged because of incentives and the relationship of “I”, a funeral director and an old man, the employer are set as workers and capitalists. From this, an individual becomes more subordinated to the way. While “I” go through the situation of the death of his sister, “I” who lost his family and death are ascribed to means to earn money, and ‘I’ reconstructed in capitalism is overlapped. In Bonus, the owner monitors the work hours and controls employees based on the capitalistic system that time became the objects of exchange value. Also, the unfair relationship of capitalists and workers are represented in the way of monthly wage and bonus. Through the conversation between ‘I’ and ‘the editor’, in the rush of Haegong, writing is clearly represented as a mean of exchange only to earn money in the capitalistic system. The editor as a capitalist limits the work hours of ‘I’, a worker, and at the same time he controls the wage. The capitalistic system that gives the absolute authority allowing capitalists to decide wages makes workers admit the fact and subordinated.
In Lee Cheong-jun’s novels, consuming subjects and subordinated individuals in reality are represented. In Bonus, ‘I’ is addicted to the tension from the action of consuming through a pachinko. Through this process, ‘I’ satisfies the emptiness of existence. An individual perceives that they become free subjects by the action of purchasing in the capitalistic system. Such freedom is available in a permitted range in the capitalistic system and can be accepted when an individual gives up their actual freedom. From the moment when the individuals in the capitalistic society are aware of the pleasure from the action of consuming, they cage themselves in the system to earn money for it. ‘I’ perceives such actions as his own decisions and is strongly subordinated in the capitalistic system. ‘I’ thinks the action of writing as the action in order to maintain the possession. Even though the manuscript fee for ‘I’ has been raised three times compared to the fee he received 10 years ago, he rather needs to work twice harder. This is caused from the fundamental problem of the capitalistic system that demolishes the law of supply and demand. The capitalistic society encourages the quantitative expansion of money. This is led to inflation and makes individuals invest more of their time on labor. In this process, an individual is forced to be subordinated in the system.
In chapter Ⅲ-2, it deals with the capitalistic existence and disease symptoms. In Lee Cheong-jun’s novels, it represents individuals in the middle of sadism and masochism caused by a competition system. In The magnificent disappearance, Yoon Il-seop perceives the capitalistic world as inside and the outside of a boundary line. He hopes to attain the highest status in the capitalistic class. The more his obsession becomes stronger, the more he becomes isolated. In this world, others perceived can never be an altruistic existence. He regards his sadistic attitude that makes threats and bothers others as a fair revenge for his damage and inevitable actions to take advantages in competitions. Yoon Il-seop in the relationship between individuals and the world has masochistic tendency in the way that he accepts what the capitalistic system forces as it is. The sadistic training shows Hyeon-su who is completely subjugated in the capitalistic world. To stand in the capitalistic superior position in the capitalistic world makes fair to be placed in a position of a sadistic existence. On the other hand, to get behind from the capitalistic superior position means to be stayed as a masochistic existence. Since Hyeon-su thinks that he cannot pass on this masochistic status to his daughter, he trains his daughter to pull his hair so that she gets used to sadism.
Lee Cheong-jun’s novels represent the gap of relationships and self-torture from the relationship. Jo Man-deuk in Mr. Jo Man-deuk is hospitalized in a mental hospital because of megalomania schizophrenia. He is located in a surrounded place in the capitalistic system. This is because jo Man-deuk still wants to live with the community value of family in the capitalistic world in where the pursuit of money works as the most efficient value. He gets disease symptoms due to the weight of reality that he cannot bear. Dr. mon takes jo Man-deuk back to the normal world by having him carry the cruel weight of the reality. Since Jo Man-deuk cannot live the capitalistic world in reality in a usual way, he chooses to kill his disabled mother and his younger brother. Jo Man-deuk clearly shows the image of self-torture that an individual chooses in front of the cold weight given from the capitalistic society. Myeong-shik in The dream of masks does not have the dullness, a defensive mechanism in the situation with others. He truly hopes a disconnection of relationships with others. Myeong-shik senses that starting relationships with others results from himself in the capitalistic world. Thus, Myeong-shik tries to accomplish what he wants by disguising himself after he realizes that he needs to hide is existence in order to disconnect from others. Even if Myeong-shik enjoys the deviant freedom for a short period of time in disguise, he realizes that it does not mean a true disconnection with others. Myeong-shik perceives that the action of wearing a mask is essential for an individual to form relationship in the capitalistic relationship. Eventually, Myeong-shik decides to suicide after realizing that the true disconnection with others is impossible.
In chapter Ⅳ, it explains Park Min-gyu’s novel as adaptation and exclusion. In chapter Ⅳ-1, the range of existence of human that cannot be ignored is represented through illusions. “I” in Thank you Raccoon indeed becomes a helpless individual: an intern who wants to be adapted as a member in the capitalistic society and desperately compete with others in an unfair and unequal condition. In this process, even if ‘I’ reconstructs all the unfair things in the capitalistic system with rational choices, the human existence inside does not accept them. At this point, the illusionary existence is shown and reveals the lack of human existence that cannot be filled in the world with the cracks of the capitalistic world in reality. ‘I’ consoles his own wounded existence through the illusionary subject, the raccoon. At the same time, ironically, this shows that the existence of ‘I’ cannot be consoled in the capitalistic society in reality. Seung-il in Is that so? It is a giraffe perceives the world as the capitalism itself that consists of numbers. While Sueng-il works as a part-timer subway push-man, he pushes people in the world including his father to the center of capitalism. He becomes an economic subject who is in charge of family living allowance instead of his missing father. After the shadow of the realistic capitalistic society shades over him and his family, a giraffe shows up. Seung-il recognizes the empty spot of self that cannot be replaced by numbers. The giraffe is not only the image of his father who gets behind from the capitalistic system but also Seung-il himself who will eventually be.
The subordinated images to the consuming subject reality are shown in Park Min-gyu’s novels. In Aspirin people have primitive fear about unknown objects. However, employees including ‘I’ have more fear on a breakaway from the company that pays them. Even if a strange object occupies the air, still nobody is able to stop the system of capitalism. People living in the capitalistic society release their fear by consuming and at the same time live with fear by not consuming. Such anxiety is caused from the capitalistic desire from not consuming. An individual chooses adjustment called adaptation in front of capitalistic system which cannot be confronted. The freedom of purchase deludes individuals that they are active subjects. ‘I’ in Dildo protected our family even lost his sexual desire, the primitive instinct because of the capitalistic desire that ‘I’ wants to belong to a middle class. His wife satisfies her sexual desire through a dildo. However, the capitalistic desire that ‘I’ pursues does not have a saturation point since it is a sort of desires to possess. ‘I’ who had a hard time to make great sale results goes to Mars according to the advice from his ex-coworker. He accomplishes his sales result by selling luxury cars to rich aliens as a masturbating tool.
In chapter Ⅳ-2, the categorical expansion of the capitalistic system is shown. Globalization and uniformity of capitalism are revealed. Earth hero legend shows allegories of America itself that pursues globalization of capitalism with Superman, Batman, Wonder woman and Aquaman; force, capital, pop culture and free trade are personified to each of the heroes. Banana man enters the heroes’ world with the approval by Americans that he is white inside even if the outside is yellow because he was born in Korea. After a breakaway from this world, Banana man lives in Korea and teaches English. The globalization of capitalism superficially claims variety, eventually it is shown as the input of unilateral capitalistic logic. Headlock is started with an event that ‘I’, a young Korean man, got a headlock by Hulk Hogan, a symbol of America. ‘I’ perceives the strong power that emasculates others is the solution to survival and becomes the subject of violence by having a huge body. Afterwards, ‘I’ puts a headlock on Hulk Hogan who defeated him and shows the image of resistance against the true violent subject. In Say Aa, Pelican, it introduces boat people wondering around the world who lost their jobs by the efficient operation of global multinational corporation as a member of a duck-boat world citizen association. This novel shows that the problems caused by capitalism is not simply the problem of a nation inside but the problem of the whole world. Also, it insists that the citizens of the whole world should unite against capitalism.
Park Min-gyu’s novel deals with a worship phenomenon of public with the process that a body becomes the object of consumption. ‘I’ in Pavane for the dead princess realizes the similarities from the facts that appearance becomes the highest value and what capitalism pursues through a conversation with Yohan. ‘I’ finds true charm from a girl who keeps internal beauty and falls in love with the girl. However, she has experienced an isolation from the capitalistic world just because she is not beautiful and perceives her own appearance as a disability. On the other hand, Kunmandu is a woman who knows how to use her beautiful appearance and shows that a body becomes an object not only to consume and worship but it even becomes an object to invest. Mot in Pingpong finds out that a majority decision is one of the principles that enables to maintain the capitalistic system. He learns that the majority vote principle that accepts majority opinions and becomes the base of democracy is the actually the foundation of the authority of an absolute majority. He also recognizes that an individual is an existence of a minority that is completely excluded because of the majority vote principle. Finally, it clearly shows that the majority vote principle can be a violence that excludes a minority completely.