Journal of the Korean Geographical Society (대한지리학회지)

The Korean Geographical Society (대한지리학회)
권호 표지

Hybrid Urbanscapes of PC Bangs and Their Socio-Spatial Effects on Human Bodies

피시방의 혼성적 도시경관과 인간 육체에 대한 사회-공간적 영향

  • Lee, Hee-Sang (Department of Geography Educatiohn, Kyungpook National University)
  • 이희상 (경북대학교 지리교육과)
  • Published : 2007.12.31
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Abstract

This paper suggests an inquiry into the characteristics and implications of urbanscapes produced by Internet cafes, widely called PC Bangs in Korea, and their effects on the motions and boundaries of human bodies as cyborgs which exist in between actual and virtual spaces or between human and machine spaces in PC Bangs. The paper, which is organised into two main sections, first investigates the streetscapes of PC Bangs as electronic architectural spaces and suggests the urban electronic space of PC Bangs in terms of hypertext space. Then, it looks at the effects of PC Bangs on human bodies which exist as human-machine hybrids or cyborgs in PC Bangs. The paradoxical socio-spatial characteristics of PC Bangs as third, liminal or hybrid spaces between actual and virtual spaces or between human and machine spaces can be explained as follows. Firstly, there appear both nomadic and sedentary landscapes in that people in PC Bangs move in virtual spaces on the one hand, and are static in actual spaces on the other hand. Secondly, both open and closed spaces are shaped in that although PC Bangs act as open or public electronic spaces, they involve invisible social boundaries, forming the gendered space of masculinism. Thirdly, the boundaries of the human body are extended and are shrunk at the same time in that while the sensory boundaries of the body in PC Bangs are extended through electronic networks, its social boundaries are shrunk through the imaginary space of solipsism. Thus and finally, PC Bangs can be characterised not only as social spaces entailing embodied and gendered landscapes, but also as non-places involving the cyborg landscapes of human-machine connections.

본 논문은 한국에서 피시방으로 불리는 인터넷 카페에 의해 생산된 도시경관의 성격과 함의, 그리고 피시방에서 실제와 가상공간 사이에 혹은 인간과 기계 공간 사이에 존재하는 사이보그로서 인간 육체의 활동과 경계에 대한 그들의 영향을 탐구한다. 두 부분으로 구성되어 있는 본 논문은 먼저 전자 건축 공간으로서 피시방의 거리경관을 조사하고 피시방의 도시 전자 공간을 하이퍼텍스트 공간의 의미에서 제시한다. 그런 다음, 피시방에서 인간-기계 혼성체 혹은 사이보그로서 존재하는 인간 육체에 대한 피시방의 영향을 조사한다. 실제와 가상 공간 사이의 혹은 인간과 기계 공간 사이의 제삼 공간, 경계 공간 혹은 혼성 공간으로서 피시방의 패러독스적 사회-공간적 특징은 다음과 같이 설명될 수 있다. 먼저, 피시방에서 사람들은 한편으로는 가상 공간에서는 이동하지만, 다른 한편으로는 실제 공간에서는 정적이라는 점에서 유목적이고 동시에 정착적인 경관이 나타난다. 둘째, 비록 피시방이 열린 공적인 전자공간으로서 역할을 하지만, 남성주의적인 젠더화된 공간을 형성하면서 보이지 않는 사회적 경계를 갖고 있다는 점에서 열린 공간이면서 닫힌 공간이다. 셋째, 피시방에서 인간 육체의 감각적 경계는 전자 네트워크를 통해 확장되지만, 동시에 그것의 사회적 경계는 자기중심적인 상상의 공간을 통해 수축된다. 그리하여 마지막으로, 피시방은 육화되고 젠더화된 경관을 갖고 있는 사회적 공간일 뿐만 아니라, 인간-기계의 결합의 사이보그 경관을 수반하는 비-장소로 특징지을 수 있다.

Keywords

References

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