A study on the framing of North Korean Defector in the media: Focusing on the case of Y. S. Kim

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The media exerts a considerable influence on the formation of images and discourses pertaining to North Korean defectors. This study endeavours to conduct a case analysis of the manner in which the media creates images of North Korean defectors and defines their identities. To this end, this focuses on Y. S. Kim, a North Korean defector who came to South Korea in 2003. Y. S. Kim was selected due to her possession of a number of distinctive characteristics that set her apart from ordinary North Korean defectors. Her diachronic experience of being born during the Japanese occupation, her spatial experience of having lived in both North and South Korea, her status as a woman from the upper echelons of Pyongyang, North Korea, her background as a cultural artist who majored in dance, and her history as a political prisoner have all provided avenues for extensive media exposure. In this study, the full narrative of Y. S. Kim’s life was identified through literature research and oral interviews, and analyzed the broadcast videos that interviewed Y.S. Kim about how they covered her. Based on this, I analyzed which parts of Y.S. Kim’s life were highlighted, compared the life narrative and content, and identified the characteristics of the media and the public’s reaction to her. The results showed that the South Korean media tends to emphasize certain frames by repeating and expanding certain parts, rather than covering the defector’s story in full and that various parts of the defector’s life narrative are not covered.