성난 젊은 세대들

Angry Young Generation: The Revisiting and Vision of Angry Young Men Fiction

This study first examines the global youth crisis, symbolized by the term “Ikea Generation”, referring to young people in temporary employment who are easily used and discarded. It traces the origin of this phenomenon back to the works of the “Angry Young Men” in post-World War II Britain during the 1950s. This article compares it to contemporary South Korean youth culture. The study then analyzes three representative novels of the Angry Young Men generation: Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim, John Braine's Room at the Top, and Alan Sillitoe's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. After examining their contributions, the conclusion suggests Richard Hoggart's vision of the “cultured, political, and intellectual working-class minority” as a source of hope and alternative for the angry youth, as emphasized in his work The Use of Literacy. In particular, the conclusion highlights that just as the Red Brick universities in the UK helped eliminate the literacy gap among the working class and improved social mobility and growth, digital literacy can emerge as a new opportunity for social mobility among South Korean youth. The study emphasizes the need for national support and policy for this digital literacy for the Korean youth generation.