IRENE LUSTRISSIMI

PhD Student

PhD program:: XXXVII
email: irene.lustrissimi@uniroma1.it




supervisor: Antonetta L. Bruno (Sapienza University)
co-supervisor: Heekyoung Cho (University of Washington)

Research: Digital Literature in South Korea. A new narrative paradigm. (Provisional)

ABSTRACT:
Digital literature in South Korea developed as a result of the country’s technological growth and its financial situation, which improved in 1997 with the help of the International Monetary Fund. South Korean people were pushed more and more towards a "technological nationalism" in every sector, including the literary one. In the early 90s with the spread of PCs, aspiring writers began to use the platforms offered by telephone companies, such as computer databases or BBS platforms, to publish their stories. The success of these was such to push companies to offer platforms and spaces dedicated solely to the creation of novels and poems, such as the HiTEL Literature Hall, up to the recent development and national diffusion of Web Sosŏl: serialized fiction that can be read comfortably from your smartphone. Web Sosŏl’s author Chŏn Minhŭi (1975) is the most illustrative representation of the birth and evolution of this new literary paradigm: forerunner of South Korean digital literature, as well as one of the greatest exponents for her prolific activity, she wrote numerous sagas belonging to the "fantasy" genre, also of international resonance. The author started her career by publishing her works through the Nownuri digital platform and immediately gained great success which led her to the publication of her works mainly in paper form to return more recently to the digital publication on the Kakaopage platform.
The Web Sosŏl, examples of the new modern cultural reflections, have brought about profound changes in the literary landscape, not only for their innovative narrative, stylistic and linguistic aspects typical of 'digital novels', but also for the very relationship between author and reader - where the speech is now direct and fluid.


11/2021 - today: PhD student at the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies (ISO), University of Rome La Sapienza.
Project title: "Digital Literature in South Korea. A new narrative paradigm." (Temporary)
Tutor: Professor Antonetta L. Bruno

2020 - 2021, Master in Journalism 3.0 - the information of the journalist profession in the new media era,
at the Niccolò Cusano University.
Thesis title: "Press, journalism, mass media: news broadcasting in and from North Korea"

2016 - 2020, Master's Degree in Oriental Languages and Civilizations at the University of Rome La Sapienza.
Korean language curriculum.
Thesis title: "Semiotic reading of geopolitical encounters in East Asia?"

2012 - 2016, Bachelor's Degree in Oriental Languages and Civilizations at the University of Rome La Sapienza.
Korean language curriculum.
Thesis title: "Crown Prince Sado, conspirator or insane"

03/2021 - 05/2021, worked as a lecturer for the 'Korean Literature' course (Master's degree) at the University of Rome La Sapienza.

2018 - 2019, worked as interpreter and coordinator for: KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) and Triangle Production.

Research products

11573/1670396 - 2023 - From webnovel to k-drama trough the OSMU strategy: the case of Touch Your Heart
Lustrissimi, Irene - 02a Capitolo o Articolo
book: K-drama impacts and beyond in Italy - (979-12-218-0451-5; 979-12-218-0516-1)

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