• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.66
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• pp.242-272
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• 2014

This study examines why follow-up investigative programs about the sinking of the Cheonan Patrol Combat Corvette(ROKS Cheonan) have not been produced, despite much speculation surrounding the cause of the sinking since November 2010, when KBS investigative program, In-Depth 60 Minutes which had covered the incident was aired. We have uncovered four reasons through a series of in-depth interviews with producers and reporters, as follows. First, Korean military authorities monopolized relevant information, while the producers could not prove or confirm the validity of the findings of the JIG(Joint Civilian-Military Investigation Group)'s report because the facts had been revealed partially and selectively by the authorities and the press' scientific investigation were rejected by the authorities. Second, the crew of In-Depth 60 Minutes was subjected to severe disciplinary action by the Korea Communications Commission. This caused a chilling effect, - it broke the producers' resolve to further explore the reason behind the sinking. Furthermore, the screening of the investigative documentary, Project Cheonan Ship was cancelled without prior notice, presumably by the power of the State and markets. Third, the reorganization and shake-up of personnel by broadcasting stations' presidents appointed by the power of the State crushed the spirit of PD Journalism. Finally, the "red purge" factions stigmatized by the political or military, or the mainstream press, caused the producers or broadcasters to engage in self-censorship. The idea has been used in Korea as a smoke screen to deflect public attention. Nevertheless, the producers hope to shed light on the Cheonan sinking incident and to prove reasonable doubts by pursuing follow-up investigations.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.25
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• pp.7-40
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• 2004

Today, nuclear energy conflict is caused from the dangerous radioactive material. The main party of this conflict are politic and economic systems which deride nuclear energy, and the persons concerned which it oppose and the anti-nuclear environment group. If the nuclear waste is transported from one nation to another nation, multi national anti-nuclear group appears as conflict party. We call this domestic and transnational risk communication new social movement. From the viewpoint of system theory, the new social movement can mean the offensive development of self-reference which withstand the "technicalization of communication" through the "symbolically generalized communication media" like money and power. By comparing Northeast Asia and Europe, the nuclear energy conflict did not show a big difference in the selection of nuclear waste storing site. In the Northeast Asia, when Taiwan exports the nuclear waste to North Korea, the international conflict broke out. In Europe, Germany has a hard experience with the construction-plan for the re-treating plant that produces the plutonium from the dangerous nuclear waste, and with the transnational transport of the nuclear waste. The new social movement aims the global paradigm which is able to guarantee the subtainability of ecological environment. The nuclear conflict in the "world risk society" is solved through the "discourse-alliance" which accomplishes sub-politics by crossing the border of class, nation and system.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.71
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• pp.33-51
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• 2015

In South Korea, the community building projects and so-called 'community businesses' are recently regarded as one of the popular issues for the local people and social activists. The project seems to be a miracle resolution for various social matters such as the deteriorating welfare, health care, security system and the worsening income problem, etc. But these promising social discourses and practices which encourage to build communities are not only constructing 'good governance' for the sound cooperation between the state and civil society, but also allowing government technologies to manage and regulate civil society and citizens. This irony of building community is not yet thoroughly considered. The aim of this article is to ask 'Is building community good for all of people?'; 'How does community guarantee the freedom of people who participate in?'. The reflection for community in South Korean Society has related to The May 18-community in Gwangju. The May 18-community is a keystone for understanding the ethos and pathos of community. This study tries to unravel the relation between the May Uprising and the idea of community throughout affects and hearts of participants. The lived experience and testimony of the people of Gwangju in May, 1980, reveals that community should not be in an order and an notion of security. Examining hearts of members of 'whatever community' in the May Uprising is essential to imagine a new form of community which incorporates liberation and freedom as its base.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.83
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• pp.157-185
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• 2017

The present study examines the dialectic tensions arising within the ICT-mediated labor culture between the dominant power of conglomerates and the precarious labor subjects in the labor practices, as smartphones and tablet PCs have grown in popularity. The present study explores how much young precarious workers named 'Cheongyeon Alba' (young precariat in S Korea) suffers from continually precarious job positions as temporary staff or contract workers, being trapped at the bottom of the pay scale, and also being electronically connected to the workplace in a seamless way. Concretely, this study investigates how the mobile phone becomes deeply entangled with the 'precarious' labor culture in the metropolitan city of Seoul. The mobile precariat has been in a disadvantaged position, in terms not only of the moral issue of exploitation in business but also of social injustice. Labor exploitation of young workers has been reinforced by the mobile labor culture, in which they are remotely monitored by live surveillance mobile apps, and mobile instant messaging from a boss can intrude incessantly into their private life. This study depicts the extension of the business's surveillant power by mobilizing the mobile phone in the working practices.

• Journal of Popular Narrative
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.73-116
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• 2019

In recent years, television dramas have adopted an emerging approach of imagining a just society via fantasy. This study set out to examine by stages the patterns of social justice in I Hear Your Voice, Pinocchio, and While You Were Sleeping written by Park Hye-ryeon, who has been leading this trend. I Hear Your Voice shows why social justice is needed, as it is set against the backdrop of a society in which legal justice has collapsed. In this drama, the collapse of the legal justice system indicates that democratic society is falling apart at the roots. As a result, pain and suffering is propagated among the petit bourgeois, with social justice being demanded as an alternative to this problematic reality. The supernatural power of reading the thoughts of others is used to remind viewers of the value of truth and trust and raises the possibility of the existence of a true heart as an alternative from a social justice perspective. Set in a society in which media justice is distorted, Pinocchio makes an attempt at changing ideas about social justice. In this drama, the corrupt media justice covers up truth and becomes a parasite to power, creating victims that are falsely accused. In this situation, the Pinocchio Syndrome, which makes people hiccup when telling a lie, shows paradoxically that truth can be distorted, and ultimately destroys absoluteness that is not truth. Finally, While You Were Sleeping inherits the world views of the two previous dramas and proposes a type of social justice called 'common good' as an alternative. A completely unfair society is created when legal justice collapses and media justice is distorted. In this situation, the ability to see the future is an ability to imagine a world of possibilities. Altruistic choices based on trust in others help us to realize a positive future. Social justice as common good to enable solidarity among subjects in a way that transcends the limitations of time and space is proposed as an alternative to overcome the problem of an unfair society. Given the recent reality of South Korean society, this common good and these ways of life might literally seem like a fantasy. When social justice is represented by efforts and reconstruction processes to overcome the current social issues and make a better future, common good based on the understanding and sympathy of others can be an alternative to improve a reality that is problematic at its root. Ultimately, Park's three works explore the feasibility of a just society that is yet to come from the aspect of the common good.

• Convergence Security Journal
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2017

The Jasmine Revolution started from Tunisia in January 2011 has brought many changes into countries in North Africa and Middle East. We need to study the causes of the revolution. First, the kings and dictators in those countries oppressed the opposition parties and the media aiming for long-term seizure of power. The power concentrated on specific people produced illegalities and corruption. Secondly, most of the national income of those countries belonged to kings and dictators producing problems during the distribution of the income. Especially, with the decrease of oil price in 1990s and the increase of the price of daily necessities in 2000s people lost their credits on their governments. Lastly, the number of people in those countries using the Internet has increased by 4,863% from 2000 to 2010. The expansion of social network services such as Facebook and Twitter was one of factors that made the information control by those countries difficult. We should think about the possibility of sudden change in North Korea. It is necessary to compare and analyze the political, economic and social characteristics between those countries and North Korea. It shouldn't be just a simple comparison or analysis. It should provide basic data for objective and quantified index development in relation to sudden change in North Korea.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.129-175
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• 2018

This paper examines asbestos activism in South Korea by focusing on the politics of knowledge between the asbestos activist group and regulatory agency on the risk of asbestos exposure. Asbestos activism has contributed to establishing asbestos pollution an important safety and public health agenda in South Korea. Asbestos pollution investigation is key to core argument of the activism that asbestos pollution is pervasive especially in urban environment and a serious environmental health problem with its worst consequences has not yet seen. A distinctive characteristic of such asbestos investigation is the use of "settled dust analysis," non-standard, non-legislated analysis method. In this paper, literary technologies used in asbestos investigation report written by activists and controversies over asbestos pollution measurement in Samsung's head office building. Asbestos activists successfully concentrated media's attention on their argument and mobilize resources needed to make policy decisions, by using settled dust analysis data. Regulatory agency and expert group, however, neither saw settled dust analysis nor activists argument persuasive enough to make policy changes, base on their evaluation on the use of standards and evidentiary context for analyzing measured data. While its explanatory power is partially acquired, through the dispute between asbestos activists and regulatory agencies unspoken assumptions of regulatory science was revealed and became the matter of social debate. Settled dust analysis captures the characteristic of asbestos analysis which combined social movement and science to challenge the regulatory agency and expert group.

• Maritime Security
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.45-72
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• 2021

North Korea's cyber capabilities represent a relatively new threat to global financial institutions and foreign governments, particularly the U.S and South Korean governments. Based primarily on publicly available sources, such as journalistic accounts and scholarly publications, this qualitative paper analyzes the ways in which North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has bolstered his country's asymmetric power and advanced his line of byungjin (dual development in the economy and military). Particularly by merging the cyber and maritime domains, North Korean operatives generate more revenue for the regime and helps keep the heavily sanctioned leadership in power. Despite the increased international attention to North Korean hackers, few analysts have examined the important role of cyber in the DPRK's internal political culture, specifically in advancing Kim Jong Un's byungjin line. Cyber fits into the DPRK's longstanding tradition of irregular warfare and guerilla-based armed struggle. Cyber also further advances Kim's personal reputation in the DPRK as an economic innovator and military strategist. This paper pays particular attention to the role of the DPRK's cyber operations in both ideological and maritime contexts. Recently, North Korean hackers have targeted South Korean shipbuilding industries and developed a blockchain scam, known as Marine Chain. North Korean cyber agents have increasingly paid attention to the nexus of cyber and maritime domains in their activities.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.181-191
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to analyze the spatial structure of director Im Kwon-taek's film , which was released in 1997. The space of the film contains the character and characteristics of the characters, and allows us to understand the contemporary reality and external circumstances surrounding the characters. For this purpose, this study used Michel Foucault's concept of heterotopia. The concept of heterotopia defines the character of the era and provides implications for how capital, power, institutions and norms surrounding our lives are being visualized through space. Based on this understanding, this study first dealt with the theoretical considerations of Michel Foucault's concept of heterotopia and its meaning. And through this, we investigated the possibility that the space of the film can be defined as a heterotopia. Through the analysis of the film's dialogue, scenes, and editing, the space of the film was divided into a heterotopia of deviation, a heterotopia of resistance impossibility, and a heterotopia of boundaries. The meaning of the film obtained through this analysis is as follows. The woman in the film is passively represented and floating on the border of heterotopia. And the film represent history and memory at the same time, and presents a heterotopia as the arena of competition.

• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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• no.27
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• pp.167-196
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• 2009

The king-vassal-subject relation in neo-confucianism can be elucidated in their status context as well as in their communicative context. In their status context, there are two aspects of power such as sovereignty and rule. Chu-zhi thinks that subjects are nobler than king in the aspect of sovereignty, but the relation is reversed in the aspect of ruling power. These two relaitions are not contradictory, but compatible. When ruling power operates, he thinks, king, vassals and word-watching officials(諫官) must check each other. In their communicative context, there are theories of sympathy and public discourse. Sympathy consists of moral sympathy through virtue politics and emotional sympathy through enjoying together. Chu-zhi finds a theoretical basis of public discourse in the place where heavenly principle meets with human mind. Public discourse is to search for common good. Institutional arrangements for public discourse are the official's rights to open and free speech. He thinks that word-watching officials must be speech leaders.