열린 결말의 여운에 기여하는 서사의 다층 구조 및 클리프행어 기법 분석 - 드라마 ‘달의 연인-보보경심 려’의 엔딩 씬을 중심으로

Abstract

Why do we so willingly pursue a story? The ultimate purpose would be to arrive at its end. Narrative works such as books or movies promote expectations and questions regarding stories as they unfold, while suspending fulfillment until the very end. Fulfillment of the expectations and answers to questions in stories arrive at the end; therefore, the final extent of fulfillment the viewers' sense from the end distinguishes the 'open end' from the 'closed end'. The ‘open end’ method allows some of the resolutions to be answered by the viewer by leaving the closure beyond the ending. This keeps the viewer in suspense, longing for the final closure due to the insufficient sense of closure. The open end goes against our instinctive ‘closure principle’ and is therefore often taken as a narrative strategy to bind us to the text, making us add our imagination to the text and linger, even long after the story has ended. This study suggests that the definition and effect of the open end consist of the compounded outcome of every closure in a multi-layered narrative structure based on a case analysis of the Korean drama <Moon Lovers and Scarlet Heart Ryo>. Very close to the end of the story, the ending scene of the drama narrowly and abruptly contains a cliffhanger in the discourse. However, unlike most common usage examples in TV dramas, the cliffhanger in <Moon Lovers> is employed at the very end of the final episode and thus traps the viewer at the moment of climax, with no ensuing scene to resolve the tension. Focusing mainly on multi-layered narrative structures and the cliffhanger effect, this study shows that the lingering effect of the open end is the result of the working dynamics between the story and the discourse.