FRAMING A REVOLUTION: KOREA’S ENGLISH-LANGUAGE NEWSPAPERS IN 1960
Date
2023
Authors
Contributor
Advisor
Department
Instructor
Depositor
Speaker
Researcher
Consultant
Interviewer
Narrator
Transcriber
Annotator
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Volume
Number/Issue
Starting Page
Ending Page
Alternative Title
Abstract
This study examines the content of the two English-language newspapers of South Korea during the tumultuous year of 1960. The Korea Times, founded in 1950, and The Korean Republic, which launched in 1953, began with the mission of keeping the foreign community in Korea – and those outside Korea with an abiding interest in peninsular affairs – informed as to developments within the country. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis, as well as the concept of “framing,” this study will examine how the independent Times and the pro- government Republic described the rule, downfall, and aftermath of President Syngman Rhee. Broadly aligned on much in terms of the policy matters of the day – namely anti-communism, support for the US alliance, and distrust of Japan – the two papers were divided, before the April Revolution of 1960, over their views of Rhee and his power consolidation. In the aftermath of Rhee’s fall, as The Republic sought to shift to a model of greater reporting and editorial independence, it remained separated from The Times by its greater focus on foreign policy matters such as Japan policy and anti-communism.This study finds that, while The Times’ greater focus on domestic issues and more in-depth reporting resulted in conflict with the Rhee administration, it also left readers better prepared for the revolution that would topple Rhee, as well as brewing discontent that would doom the post- Rhee experiment with democracy. The Republic, ahead of the Revolution, largely ignored the mounting discontent of the public with Rhee and his Liberal Party government over their vote- rigging, campaigns of violence and intimidation against opposition parties and media, and the country’s economic stagnation, instead painting a picture of an imperiled but united bulwark of the free world under Rhee’s benevolent leadership. The Times, by contrast, described a terrorized political climate ahead of elections, with its editorial page warning that such a façade could not continue indefinitely.
When the April Revolution came, The Times provided in-depth coverage from the moment the rallies, some of them violent, began, while The Republic largely ignored and dismissed them as the work of communist agitation and impressionable youth. When it became evident that the Revolution would not subside and that Seoul’s American partners would not countenance the Liberal regime’s hardline tactics, The Republic transitioned to a post-Rhee reporting environment, which placed greater priority on domestic reporting and an independent editorial status. Quantitative analysis of its editorials reveals that its interest in foreign affairs still surpassed that of The Times, however, and The Times could still be counted on for more in-depth reporting on the political rancor that would ultimately doom the country’s experiment in parliamentary governance. Both papers, however, appeared unaware of the mounting discontent brewing in the military that would one day contradict – in spectacular fashion – their vows of political neutrality. It ends by noting the subsequent military dictatorship’s co-opting of the media for its own ends, and the long-term effects this has had on stifling independent reporting.
Description
Keywords
Asian history, Journalism, Cold War, Framing, Newspapers, Public sphere, South Korea
Citation
Extent
291 pages
Format
Geographic Location
Time Period
Related To
Related To (URI)
Table of Contents
Rights
All UHM dissertations and theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission from the copyright owner.
Rights Holder
Local Contexts
Collections
Email libraryada-l@lists.hawaii.edu if you need this content in ADA-compliant format.