# Immersive fantasy based on digital nostalgia: Environmental narratives for Korea's millennials and Gen Z

- Authors: Y. Doh, Joonhyung Bae
- Venue: Proc. 2025 Int. Symp. on Electronic Art (ISEA), Seoul, South Korea, May 23–29, 2025
- Year: 2025
- Type: Conference Paper
- arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.10013
- PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xXDknEStAvBr5p9puXrjG52pJ8d5apQ9/view?usp=drive_link
- Keywords: digital nostalgia, immersive fantasy, environmental narratives, millennials, Gen Z
- Page: https://joonhyungbae.com/publication/immersive-fantasy-digital-nostalgia-2025

## In one sentence

Media artwork on pandemic single-use mask waste, framed through Millennial/Gen Z digital nostalgia and a fantasy narrative (ISEA 2025).

코로나19 시기 폭증한 일회용 마스크 쓰레기를 디지털 노스탤지어와 판타지 서사로 다룬 미디어아트(ISEA 2025).

## Abstract

This study introduces the media artwork Dear Passenger, Please Wear a Mask, designed to offer a layered exploration of single-use mask waste, which escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The piece reframes underappreciated ecological concerns by interweaving digital nostalgia and airline travel recollections of Millennials and Gen Z with a unique fantasy narrative. Via a point-and-click game and an immersive exhibition, participants traverse both virtual and real domains, facing ethical and environmental dilemmas. While it fosters empathy and potential action, resource use and post-experience engagement challenges persist.

(Source: arXiv:2506.10013)

## When this paper is relevant

- You need environmental media art addressing pandemic waste / 팬데믹·일회용품 쓰레기를 다룬 환경 미디어아트 사례가 필요할 때
- You study works combining a game with an immersive installation across virtual and physical space / 게임과 몰입형 전시를 결합해 가상·실제 공간을 오가는 작품 구조를 연구할 때

## Related

- Exploring Critical Environmental Media Art Through the Digital Nostalgia of Millennials and Gen Z (2025): https://joonhyungbae.com/papers/digital-nostalgia-environmental-media-art-2025.md

## How to cite

Y. Doh, Joonhyung Bae (2025). Immersive fantasy based on digital nostalgia: Environmental narratives for Korea's millennials and Gen Z. Proc. 2025 Int. Symp. on Electronic Art (ISEA), Seoul, South Korea, May 23–29, 2025. https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.10013

```bibtex
@inproceedings{Doh2025immersive,
  title = {Immersive fantasy based on digital nostalgia: Environmental narratives for Korea's millennials and Gen Z},
  author = {Y. Doh and Joonhyung Bae},
  booktitle = {Proc. 2025 Int. Symp. on Electronic Art (ISEA), Seoul, South Korea, May 23–29, 2025},
  year = {2025},
  eprint = {2506.10013},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.10013}
}
```