• 기호학연구
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• no.57
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• pp.211-255
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• 2018

This paper attempts to "re-read" the webtoon Misaeng, which was once an important issue in the field of public discourse on "labor". Our hypothesis was that the dual actactial structure of Misaeng's hero Jang Geurae gave a dual structure to the entire text, which leads to the discovery of text meaning that was not mentioned in the existing discourse. This is based on the concept of 'meta-story character', which Hiroki Azuma talked in his postmodern literary theory. To verify this hypothesis we analyzed the text by applying the Parisian semiotics, more specifically J. Fontanille's theory. Jang Geurae is observed to be a actant of dual structure divided into 'character' of the enunciated level and 'player' of the enunciation level. Considering this characteristic of the hero, Misaeng can be interpreted as a metafiction that shows the 'shifting' between the subject of the enunciated level and the subject of the enunciation level. On the level of 'character' Jang's existence mode turns out to be "Deficiency (actualized)", but on the level of 'player' Jang 's existence mode turns out to be "Inanity(potentiallized)." His somatic responses also show a duality, which is represented by Fontanille's corps-actant model, where on the level of 'character' the somatic actant of Jang consists of 'Moi-chair(ego-flesh)' and 'Soi-idem(self-idem)', and on the level of 'player' it consists of 'Moi-chair(ego-flesh)' and 'Soi-ipse(self-ipse)'. The former mainly acts as a 'role' and takes charge of exteroceptive perception, while the latter mainly acts as 'attitude' and takes charge of interoceptive perception. Because of this dissociative nature of actant, Jang's two 'self' draw the re-adjustment of values without serious conflict between the collective norms and the individual identity. This is in sharp contrast with other characters who struggle with the conflict between the environment and "self". It becomes customary to adopt norms that are suspected to ineffective, but if you raise questions, the normative system can be updated. On one axis of Misaeng there are characters who have lost themselves in customs. On the other axis, there is Jang who can not help dismantling the existing ineffective norms and updating the normative system. Jang's existence mode seems to be one of many possible modes generated by this era where people share no longer solid community values, His actantial structure also communicates with readers of these days who put themselves more in subject of enunciation level than of enunciated level.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.169-206
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• 2019

This article seeks to explore new relationships and ethics of human and technology by analyzing a cultural imaginary produced by artificial intelligence. Drawing on theoretical reflections of the Feminist Scientific and Technological Studies which understand science and technology as the matter of care(Puig de la Bellacas, 2011), this paper focuses on the fact that artificial intelligence and robots materialize cultural imaginary such as autonomy. This autonomy, defined as the capacity to adapt to a new environment through self-learning, is accepted as a way to conceptualize an authentic human or an ideal subject. However, this article argues that artificial intelligence is mediated by and dependent on invisible human labor and complex material devices, suggesting that such autonomy is close to fiction. The recent growth of the so-called 'assistant technology' shows that it is differentially visualizing the care work of both machines and humans. Technology and its cultural imaginary hide the care work of human workers and actively visualize the one of the machine. And they make autonomy and agency ideal humanness, leaving disabled bodies and dependency as unworthy. Artificial intelligence and its cultural imaginary negate the value of disabled bodies while idealizing abled-bodies, and result in eliminating the real relationship between man and technology as mutually dependent beings. In conclusion, the author argues that the technology we need is not the one to exclude the non-typical bodies and care work of others, but the one to include them as they are. This technology responsibly empathizes marginalized beings and encourages solidarity between fragile beings. Inspired by an art performance of artist Sue Austin, the author finally comes up with and suggests 'artificial intelligence in wheelchair' as an alternative figuration for the currently dominant 'autonomous artificial intelligence'.