The global spread of Mo Yan’s works has made their book cover design an important sample for cross-cultural visual communication research. From the perspective of Z-generation readers, this paper conducts a visual analysis of Mo Yan’s book covers published in China and South Korea, focusing on four dimensions: color system, image symbols, typographic language and overall style. The study finds that Chinese editions tend to use traditional ink-wash imagery and folk symbols to strengthen cultural roots, while Korean editions adopt a modern minimalist style and emotional visual narration to cater to the aesthetic preferences of the local Z-generation. Such differences reflect deep divergences in audience positioning, cultural translation strategies and visual communication logic in the publishing markets of the two countries. Essentially, cover design in a cross-cultural context is an active process of cultural reproduction.

Xin’ai Tang, Jongbin Park. A Study on Visual Elements of Mo Yan’s Book Covers: A Cross-Cultural Comparative Analysis of Chinese and Korean Versions from the Z-Generation Perspective. International Journal of Art Innovation and Development (2026), Vol. 7, Issue 1: 1-6. https://doi.org/10.38007/IJAID.2026.070101.

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