Reimagining the North: Norse mythology in contemporary Korean popular culture and games

This project examines how Norse mythology is adapted and reinterpreted in contemporary Korean popular culture, with a particular focus on the game industry. It explores how mythological motifs travel across distant cultural contexts and are reshaped through processes of cultural transfer and glocalization. 

Combining textual and visual analysis with reception studies, the project investigates how narrative elements, aesthetics, and symbolic meanings are transformed in Korean media, and how industry dynamics and audience expectations influence these adaptations. 

The project is led by Robert Zola Christensen in collaboration with Yun-Young Choi (Seoul National University) and contributes to research on cultural transfer, global media, and the international circulation of Nordic cultural heritage. The collaboration is supported by Lund University’s Get Started Funding for international partnerships, which provides seed funding for joint research with selected partner universities, including Seoul National University