This study aims to examine the ways in which the Korean press constructs the social discourse of misogyny. For this purpose the present study analyzes media frames used in the news articles of the Joongang Ilbo and the Hankyoreh on the case of GangNam...
This study aims to examine the ways in which the Korean press constructs the social discourse of misogyny. For this purpose the present study analyzes media frames used in the news articles of the Joongang Ilbo and the Hankyoreh on the case of GangNam Murder in May of 2016, which triggered hot debates about the social phenomenon of misogyny over a wide range of social groups in Korea for a long while. After examining the general tendency of reporting the murder case by the two selected newspapers, this study tried to reveal the specific ways in which these two newspapers constructed the social discourse of misogyny by analyzing the sources quoted in the news reports, the attitudes toward women appeared in the news reports, the frames used in the news reports. It is found that both of the two newspapers showed a tendency to reflect women's voices and to hold positive attitudes toward women in reporting the case of GangNam Murder as related to the phenomenon of misogyny, discussing the implications of this murder case for gender issues in Korean society. The frame analysis of news reports of misogyny related to the GangNam Murder showed that the two newspapers employed thematic frames more than episodic frames. The frame analysis also revealed that most of the inductively examined frames were used for defining the phenomenon of misogyny, while few frames were used for causal interpretation and recommendation treatment, using Entman’s(1993) terms for describing the functions of the media frame. There were not a single frame for moral evaluations in the news reports of misogyny related to the GangNam Murder in both of the two newspapers. The implications of the current results for gender issues in Korea are discussed. For further researches, the present study suggests we need examine how the construction of misogyny discourse has been changed.