From Chinese Classic to South Korean Adaptation: A Multimodal Analysis of Transmedia Cultural Mediation in <i>Journey to the West</i> ’s Animated and Television Versions

Abstract This study examines how multimodal ensembles in Journey to the West adaptations collectively mediate cultural transmission across different audience demographics. Moving beyond conventional unimodal analyses, this study develops an integrated framework that simultaneously addresses linguistic, paralinguistic, and narrative dimensions in children’s animation versus adult-oriented television adaptations. Through systematic comparison of the Little Fox animated series (targeting 6–12 years old) and the 1986 CCTV television series, we reveal how synchronized multimodal strategies, including lexical simplification (TTR = 0.28 vs. 0.35), syntactic adjustment (7.2 vs. 14.7 mean T-unit length), and narrative scaffolding (43.7 % omniscient narration) - create distinct ideological and cognitive mediation pathways. The multimodal analysis demonstrates three key mechanisms of audience adaptation: (1) naturalized cultural schematization through audiovisual anchoring in animation, where simplified vocabulary (82 % BNC top 1,000 words) aligns with visual cues to reinforce comprehension; (2) layered semiotic affordances in television adaptations, where complex syntax (1.12 clauses/sentence) interacts with cinematic techniques to preserve literary nuance; and (3) developmental scaffolding through strategic modality interplay, with animation’s hybrid narration-dialogue structure (3.7-second turn-taking) offering cognitive support absent in television’s dialogue-driven approach (2.4-second turns). These findings reveal how South Korean animation mediates Chinese cultural capital for transnational audiences, contributing to broader discussions on East Asian cultural power dynamics in globalized media.