Cultural Evolution and the Stability Paradox

This project develops a general theoretical model explaining why some media ecosystems stagnate while others continue to innovate. It identifies the Stability Paradox, in which large domestic markets tend to lose creative diversity due to weak external selection pressure and institutional rigidity, while smaller or export-dependent ecosystems maintain higher adaptive capacity. The study analyzes how market size, external demand dependence, and institutional rigidity interact to shape long-term cultural evolution in drama, animation, gaming, and serialized narrative industries. It also introduces the concept of institutionalized fictional histories—shared, low‑regulation creative domains such as “Narouppa”—as a mechanism for restoring variation and adaptive potential in large media ecosystems. This work is written with the hope that Korean and Chinese creators, as well as other large-market ecosystems, will cultivate greater creative diversity, achieve global reach, and build sustainable creative environments that benefit both artists and audiences.