From Apocalypse to Extinction: Korean Science Fiction and Extinction Discourse in the 2020s

Abstract

This paper examines the discourse of extinction in Korean science fiction(SF) in the 2020s. In this paper, extinction is situated in two contexts: climate change and artificial intelligence(AI). First, Anthropocene extinction is the result of the human capacity for detrimental planetary action, including accelerating the extinction of species, including their owns. Second, mechanical evolutionary extinction is the result of less improved forms of humans social evolution into better forms through technology.
 In the 2020s, extinction emerged as a thematic lexicon to replace the apocalyptic motif in Korean SF. This paper analyzes antihumanism and antinatalism as forms of extinction discourse in two SF works, Second Moon by Choi Yi-soo and Farewell by Kim Young-ha. The antihumanism in Second Moon is a counter-discourse to the human regeneration project carried out by AI. In contrast, the antinatalism of Farewell is a campaign of human extinction carried out by AI. The narratives of both novels reject antihumanism and antinatalism. However, it is important to note that the extinction discourse in both novels stems from a self-criticism of humans’ planetary capacity to destroy ecosystems.
 Climate change and AI are the kind of “X-Risks” that could make the extinction of beings(including humankind), possible. In the 2020s, Korean SF has been mutating through various imaginaries and discourses of extinction. Yet because extinction is a universal vocabulary that refers to the common fate and survival of humans and non-humans, it needs to be conceptualized and imagined with careful intentionality.