Not just reading the romance online: adolescent girls’ reading Korean Manhwa

ABSTRACT

Portable mobile technologies and high-speed access to the internet has led to the development of new online-first reading materials such as Korean Manhwa or webtoons, designed for quick consumption on mobile devices. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 11 adolescent girls aged 14 to 15 years old, this study examines why and how adolescents read Manhwa, especially romances. Findings show that these girls read for entertainment and to escape from reality. Strong visual aesthetics, relatable characters and engaging storylines, driven by technological infrastructures encouraging continual engagement, support these adolescents’ immersion in online storyworlds. Their engagement with these texts allowed the girls as readers to discover self as reader and person, negotiating multifaceted aspects of their working, moral and romantic lives as they envision present and future possibilities.

KEYWORDS:

• Korean Manhwa
• contemporary leisure reading practices
• adolescents
• mobile reading
• wellbeing

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank Ms Erna Sia for her assistance with project administration and the school and students for the participation. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Singapore MOE and NIE NTU, Singapore.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical approval

Ethics approval was obtained (IRB2019-03-026-04). The data is stored at https://doi.org/10.25340/R4/9YVCWY and can be obtained by writing to the corresponding author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the DEV02-20 LCE Designing School Libraries of the Future study and as part of the University Research Experience on Campus (URECA).

Notes on contributors

Chin Ee Loh

Chin Ee Loh is Associate Professor and Deputy Head (Research) at the English Language and Literature Academic Group at the National Institute of Education. Her research focuses on literacies at the intersection of globalisation and equity, place-based literature education and contemporary reading practices. She is the author of various articles and books including The Space and Practice of Reading: A Case Study of Reading and Social Class in Singapore (Routledge, 2017) and Literature Education in the Asia-Pacific (Routledge, 2018).

Nur Fitri Shazwini Binte Rosli

Nur Fitri Shazwini Binte Rosli is a Year 4 Bachelor of Arts in English Literature student at Nanyang Technological University. Her research interests are in intercultural, media and communication, cultural production and creative industries This study was completed as part of the Nanyang Technological University’s Undergraduate Research Experience on Campus (URECA) programme.

Maya Ziqing Krishnan

Maya Ziqing Krishnan is a Year 3 Bachelor of Arts in English Literature student at Nanyang Technological University. Her research interests are in New Media and Intercultural Communication. This study was completed as part of the Nanyang Technological University’s Undergraduate Research Experience on Campus (URECA) programme.