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Identity Framing of South Korea in the Japanese Press: The 2019 Boycott Movement

Frank, Xenia Dam (2020)
Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Abstract
The South Korean boycott movement of Japan that emerged over the summer of 2019 represents a drastic decline in Japan-South Korea relations. This thesis focused on how the boycott movement was framed in the five big national Japanese newspapers over a 50-day period in August and September 2019 in order to understand how the Japanese press constructs South Korean identity vis-àvis Japan. Drawing on social constructivism and theories on Self-Other discursive representations in international relations, the thesis conducted a framing analysis by examining the identity frames and topic frames used by the newspapers. This illustrated how two opposing narratives of South Korea existed in the Japanese press relating to the boycotts: a negative,... (More)
The South Korean boycott movement of Japan that emerged over the summer of 2019 represents a drastic decline in Japan-South Korea relations. This thesis focused on how the boycott movement was framed in the five big national Japanese newspapers over a 50-day period in August and September 2019 in order to understand how the Japanese press constructs South Korean identity vis-àvis Japan. Drawing on social constructivism and theories on Self-Other discursive representations in international relations, the thesis conducted a framing analysis by examining the identity frames and topic frames used by the newspapers. This illustrated how two opposing narratives of South Korea existed in the Japanese press relating to the boycotts: a negative, which constructed Korea as uncivilised/emotional, unlawful/untrustworthy, unreasonable, distinctively Asian, and responsible for the deterioration of Japan-Korea relations, and a positive where Korea was viewed as a valued partner who is just another country, not anti-Japanese, and not individually to blame for the declining relationship. These narratives were, however, represented differently between the newspapers, and the thesis thus argued against the claim that the Japanese press is homogeneous. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Frank, Xenia Dam
supervisor
organization
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Japan-South Korea relations, 2019 South Korean boycott movement, Social constructivism, Self-Other representation, Identity, Framing analysis, Japanese media
language
English
id
9031436
date added to LUP
2020-10-28 13:47:43
date last changed
2020-10-28 13:47:43
@misc{9031436,
  abstract     = {{The South Korean boycott movement of Japan that emerged over the summer of 2019 represents a drastic decline in Japan-South Korea relations. This thesis focused on how the boycott movement was framed in the five big national Japanese newspapers over a 50-day period in August and September 2019 in order to understand how the Japanese press constructs South Korean identity vis-àvis Japan. Drawing on social constructivism and theories on Self-Other discursive representations in international relations, the thesis conducted a framing analysis by examining the identity frames and topic frames used by the newspapers. This illustrated how two opposing narratives of South Korea existed in the Japanese press relating to the boycotts: a negative, which constructed Korea as uncivilised/emotional, unlawful/untrustworthy, unreasonable, distinctively Asian, and responsible for the deterioration of Japan-Korea relations, and a positive where Korea was viewed as a valued partner who is just another country, not anti-Japanese, and not individually to blame for the declining relationship. These narratives were, however, represented differently between the newspapers, and the thesis thus argued against the claim that the Japanese press is homogeneous.}},
  author       = {{Frank, Xenia Dam}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Identity Framing of South Korea in the Japanese Press: The 2019 Boycott Movement}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}