ScholarWorks@중앙대학교

초록

This study quantitatively analyzes the narrative functions and emotional symbolism of color in the Netflix original animated film, K-Pop: Demon Hunters, based on its narrative structure. Despite the growing emphasis on visual storytelling alongside the global expansion of K-content, empirical research analyzing color in relation to narrative structure using objective data remains insufficient. To address this, the film's 43 distinct scenes were reorganized into a three-act structure (Introduction, Middle, and End), and 9 representative keyframes were selected for each narrative phase. To ensure objectivity, background simplification preprocessing was performed to focus on narrative subjects, followed by the extraction of dominant RGB colors using a Python-based K-means clustering algorithm. The extracted color data were mapped onto the IRI Image Scale to trace emotional trajectories. The results indicate that while colors in the introduction were dispersed, reflecting a coexistence of stability and anxiety, they sharply converged into the "Hard" quadrant during the middle act, visualizing heightened narrative tension. Subsequently, the resolution phase demonstrated a return to the "Soft" quadrant, clearly signifying conflict resolution and the restoration of emotional stability. These findings empirically confirm that color functions not merely as an aesthetic decoration but as a core visual language that organizes emotional arcs and narrative tension. This study provides data-driven criteria for establishing color strategies corresponding to narrative stages in global content production.

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