Identity, security and the nation: understanding the South Korean response to North Korean defectors

Son, Sarah A.

doi:10.1080/14631369.2016.1151236

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…For many, national identity continues to be defined on ethnic terms, with discriminatory treatment of non-Koreans prevalent (Ghazarian, 2018). Furthermore, unification as a policy imperative continues to emphasize the Korean people as a single ethnic family from time immemorial (Son, 2016), with majorities still supportive of reunification at least in the abstract (e.g., Macris, 2012;Cha 2014;Kim et al, 2015).…”

Section: Arrivals To South Korea and Public Perceptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who is welcome? South Korean public opinion on North Koreans and other refugees

Rich

Bison

Kozovic

2021

Japanese Journal of Political Science

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What explains South Korean public opposition for refugees and does the public differentiate among groups? Although a sizable literature addresses perceptions of North Korean arrivals, few studies directly compare sentiment for this group to others. Using an original web survey with an embedded experimental design, we find clear greater support for accepting North Korean arrivals compared to both non-ethnic Korean refugees and Muslim refugees. Additional analysis finds clear majorities view Islam as incompatible with Korean values. Our results suggest the challenge of encouraging multiculturalism in the largely homogeneous country.

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Section: Arrivals To South Korea and Public Perceptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who is welcome? South Korean public opinion on North Koreans and other refugees

Rich

Bison

Kozovic

2021

Japanese Journal of Political Science

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“…While the 'Enemy Nation' and 'Another Country' identities emphasize the geopolitical relations between both countries, 'Disadvantaged Sibling' and 'Ruptured Family' focus on 'a deep sense of Korean peoplehood' (Rice 2018). Similarly, Sarah Son (2016) proposes two identity frames that characterize South Korean attitudes towards North Korean defectors; 'Us' and 'Them'. Here again two conflicting perceptions of the North are articulated; the singular Korean peoplehood is contrasted with the reality of geopolitical relations between both countries.…”

Section: Unstable Relations Changing Perceptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foreign places as Korean spaces: Representations of national trauma in the South Korean dramas Ireland and Descendants of the Sun

Mercier

2020

East Asian Journal of Popular Culture

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The study of Korean media, and K-dramas specifically, has been dominated largely by discourses surrounding the ‘Korean Wave’ and the increased popularity of South Korean popular culture abroad. More specifically, many English-language analyses have tended to focus their attention on the Korean Wave as an analytical framework, thus failing to acknowledge the ways in which these texts address domestic audiences and societal issues specific to South Korea. Thus, little attention has been paid to more implicit representations of the nation and its past in these K-dramas, a particularly noteworthy oversight when we consider that melodrama, a distinctly reflexive genre, is the governing mode of many contemporary K-dramas. Thus, this article aims to demonstrate the multiplicity of meanings that can exist within these media texts, paying particular attention to the reflexive capacities of the melodramatic mode. Through the examination of two case studies, Ireland and Descendants of the Sun, this article will discuss the ways in which shifting inter-Korean relations have been articulated in both dramas through sociopolitical contextualization and narrative analysis. This article will examine the use of foreign places and foreign crises in these dramas, and demonstrate their capacity to function as arenas for the expression and exploration of national trauma relating to the Korean war and the division of the Korean peninsula. This article aims to demonstrate that despite the increasing hybridization of Asian media, it remains important to analyse the relationship between K-dramas and domestic audiences in order to better understand the ways in which they address and work through significant social and political concerns for South Korean audiences.

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“…The shift from "quiet diplomacy" to "active diplomacy" on North Korean human rights was linked by the Lee Myung Rights Council, framing their care in terms of "international norms" of behaviour regarding human rights (Bak, 2012). Both the acceptance of North Korean defectors and the framing of this practice in terms of human rights, rather than just filial responsibility for "co-ethnics" as had been the case in the past, held significance in South Korea distinguishing itself from the North as a separate, more responsible actor (Son, 2016). The identity of an "imagined", "pan-Korean" nation, grounded in entrenched ethno-historical narratives of Korean unity, has long been at the core of both unification policy and South Korea's claim to be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula.…”

Section: The Rise Of Human Rights Discourse In South Korea's North Komentioning

confidence: 99%

South Korea’s North Korean Image Problem: Human Rights under the Spotlight

Son¹

2018

Asian Studies Review

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The 2014 United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea (UN COI) had a decisive impact on South Korea's approach to North Korea's human rights abuses in the several years following its release. This article interprets moves within South Korea to support the UN COI's recommendations as taken in the interests of ontological security, or a stable sense of identity, which has also driven the state's broader initiatives on image management and nation branding. It extends the boundaries of nation-branding research by considering why and how a state may adopt policies that enhance its moral visibility and reputation in world affairs. It considers how a positive reputation is enhanced by demonstrating good international citizenship, promoting the visibility of state identity parameters beyond its culture and core industries. This article interprets the South Korean government's efforts to act on North Korean human rights following the UN COI, as well as the significance of being seen to be doing so at home and abroad as security-giving behaviour asserting its moral authority in relation to North Korea. It explores how a longstanding policy of relative silence on North Korea's human rights record acceded to identity-driven pressures * CONTACT

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Identity, security and the nation: understanding the South Korean response to North Korean defectors

Cited by 19 publications

References 12 publications

Who is welcome? South Korean public opinion on North Koreans and other refugees

Who is welcome? South Korean public opinion on North Koreans and other refugees

Foreign places as Korean spaces: Representations of national trauma in the South Korean dramas Ireland and Descendants of the Sun

South Korea’s North Korean Image Problem: Human Rights under the Spotlight

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