한국 오컬트 장르와 디지털 시대의 관람 문화의 공명 :<파묘>를 중심으로 = Korean Occult Genre and Its Resonance with Digital-Age Viewing Culture: A Focus on Exhuma

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study examines the interaction between the rise of the occult genre in South Korean cinema and the modes of spectatorship shaped by the digital age, focusing on Exhuma (2024, dir. Jang Jae-hyun). The occult genre, grounded in narratives centered around supernatural forces and hidden truths, shares a structural affinity with the interpretive practices of contemporary audiences in a media environment marked by information overload and uncertainty. Today's viewers actively collect visual cues and symbols embedded in films, connecting them with extratextual information to construct personalized interpretations. This mode of engagement often takes the form of “digging” or hyperlink-based decoding that transcends traditional passive viewing.
Exhuma deliberately embeds numerous cues that guide viewers toward extratextual associations. For example, the four main characters' names are borrowed from actual Korean independence activists, and the names of locations and objects—such as “Uiyeol Funeral Home,” “Boguk Temple,” and license plate numbers like 0301, 1945, and 0815―evoke Korea's colonial history and anti-Japanese resistance. Rather than serving as elements that clarify narrative meaning, these references function as “Easter eggs” that prompt internet searches and encourage individual interpretation beyond the film's diegesis. In this way, the film transforms digital-age interpretive behaviors into an integral cinematic experience.
At the core of this digital viewing culture lies a desire to construct personal frameworks of meaning rather than to uncover a single, authoritative truth. In an age of fragmented and algorithmically curated information, viewers increasingly connect disparate fragments to form subjective truths aligned with their own beliefs. A scene in Exhuma, where characters speculate on symbols by stating, “Even if 99% is false, the 1% might be true,” reflects this cultural tendency to prioritize interpretive plausibility over empirical certainty.
Ultimately, this study argues that the popularity of Exhuma and the occult genre's resurgence cannot be understood solely as responses to social anxiety. Instead, they should be seen as cultural phenomena shaped by the convergence of occult aesthetics and the interpretive desires of digital-age audiences. The occult genre's ambiguity and multilayered symbolism resonate deeply with these spectatorship practices, offering a valuable lens through which to reconsider both the contemporary meaning of Korean occult cinema and the evolving nature of media consumption in the digital era.