• Journal of Popular Narrative
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.9-43
• /
• 2019

Web novels are one of the most actively adapted genre novels under a new medium called the Internet. Research on cultural content implemented on top of digital media is naturally closely related to environmental changes in digital media. The same goes for Web novels sparked by the identity of Web platforms. Especially in the case of web novels, the platform itself that provides them has triggered direct changes in genre code and reading patterns. From this perspective, this thesis wanted to examine the formation process and strategic features of web novels, which became content and products on the web platform environment. First of all, through the formation process ranging from communication novels to Internet novels and web novels, I arranged the transition to digital media and the change of genre novel market. This was an attempt to extract that Web novels not only have continuity as genre novels, but also have a turning point as digital content. Web novels are digital content that internalizes the values of the Web 2.0 era. It should also be a core product that grows the pie in the market in its own right. This paper noted that web novels are content that embodies these consumption values. So this thesis considered about what is the visualization and commercialization strategy of the web-based novels that is currently formed, and what is the current status of the web-based romance novels as the content and the product that is driving OSMU most actively in the process of commercialization. Through this process, I found that the greatest characteristic of web novels as genre novels that have evolved into digital content is their division and crack of genre.

• Journal of Popular Narrative
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.41-66
• /
• 2019

This paper looks at the readers and publishing strategies of paperback romance novels in the the 1980s based on the 'high-teen' concept. The purpose of this article is to examine the meaning the 'high-teen' concepts as expressed in the media through the publication of paperback romance series in the 1980s. Among paperback romance series, this paper was based on pirated/licensed version of novels published by Harlequin, a Canadian publisher, and the magazine media's advertising promotional phrases that were published targeting the same readers. Since the 1970s, mass media have referred to teenagers as high-teens and called them important consumers. High-teen was a term referring to teenagers in school uniforms, mostly girls, and in the 1980s, 'high-teen' was also introduced as a new consumer market, and the publishing market put forward a number of publishing strategies to attract them. The paperback romance, including , has identified 'high-teen' readers as late-teen girls, sensitive consumers for best-sellers/million-sellers, readers with a tendency to read stories of love, and readers that favor American and Western culture. Since the 1980s, the market for paperback romance has been in the recession, but readers have kept the romance genre alive by accepting and localizing the Harlequin series. With the rise of a new form of media called the 'Web Novel', interest in the romance genre is increasing, and we hope this study will serve as a starting point for a variety of discussions with (women) readers about romance reading/enjoyment.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.63-76
• /
• 2022

Consumers of web novels read online reviews in order to decrease uncertainty when purchasing a web novel. This study examines the types of messages (factual or evaluative) that consumers find more useful and verifies the moderating effect of individual analytical decision-making style levels on differences in usefulness evaluation. Based on the tendency to acquire objective information, the usefulness of factual online reviews was expected to be higher in the context of buying experience goods, such as a web novel. Levels of analytical decision-making styles, which were classified based on individual perception, are also expected to affect the usefulness evaluation of reviews. Experiments 1 and 2 were repeatedly conducted to examine whether consumers think factual reviews are more useful than evaluative reviews. In particular, Experiment 2 was conducted to simulate the circumstance of selecting a romance web novel and demonstrated that reviews have a significant effect on messages and decision-making styles. The interaction effect between analytical decision-making style levels and review message types was also confirmed in Experiment 2. The results of this study can help researchers and marketers comprehend the behavioral patterns of web novel readers when evaluating reviews and consuming experience goods.