A Comparative Study on Community Restoration Mechanisms in Korean Shamanic Rituals and K-Contents Based on Systems Thinking

Abstract

This study conducts a comparative analysis of community restoration mechanisms in Donghae-an Byeolsingut and KPop Demon Hunters (hereafter KPDH) based on systems thinking. Each cultural system was analyzed through four structural dimensions — relational, participatory, symbolic, and affective — from which four cultural mechanisms were inductively derived: Mediation, Collective Participation, Symbolic Transformation, and Affective Synchronization. The two systems demonstrate structural homology across all dimensions: both center on a liminal mediator, operate through a reinforcing participation loop, perform three-dimensional symbolic transformation across space, sound, and objects(iconography), and condition affective synchronization on authenticity. This homology is most powerfully evidenced in their shared principle of closure — integration rather than exclusion. The study also identifies three key transformations in the modern reconstruction: the internalization of the sacred (from divine figures to the collective mind of the fandom), the deterritorialization of community (from a coastal village to a global fandom), and the substitution of cyclical ritual with the performance cycle. These findings suggest that the cultural mechanisms of Korean shamanic ritual function as a cultural archetype that continues to produce community restoration across changing media environments.