Return of Myth, Myth Resources, and the Contemporaneity of Mythology in Korea and China Today

Abstract

Nowadays, myth is being used as a kind of cultural resource. Myth has been the source of inspiration for creating literature and art in the past as well, but with globalization and rapidly-changing media environment, the modes of myth resourcization have become more complex and diversified in the 21st century. This paper introduces the concepts that emerged in the mythological circles of Korea and China under these circumstances such as the "return of myth," "neo-mythologism," and "mythologism", and examines a few examples of myth being utilized as resources to get a glimpse of the economic, academic, and national desires that can be found in the myth resourcization. Additionally, it also seeks possibilities for new creation that is beyond these desires, and discusses how we should understand the "contemporaneity of mythology."