The Review of Korean Studies
- Apply for Authority
- P-ISSN1229-0076
- E-ISSN2773-9351
- SCOPUS, ESCI
ISSN : 1229-0076
Gender Stereotypes and Election Coverage in South Korea: An Exploratory Analysis in Presidential and Seoul Mayoral Elections
Jang Jinhyeok (University of Louisville)
Park Jaehoo (University of Oxford)
- Downloaded
- Viewed
Abstract
We explore how Korean media describe male and female politicians in high-profile elections. In western societies, there are competing views regarding media coverage of male and female politicians. The conventional view is that biased media coverage subjects women to gender stereotypes regarding the traits candidates exhibit and the issues on which women are competent to legislate. Yet, recent research contends that gendered differences are becoming less pronounced, and some studies even demonstrate that female politicians get more media coverage in areas that are stereotypically seen as masculine issues. The 2012 presidential election and multiple recent Seoul mayoral elections offer a unique opportunity to explore media coverage of male and female Korean politicians. Using a novel dataset of media coverage from the top five Korean newspapers, spanning four high-profile elections, we evaluate the presence of gendered media bias in Korean mayoral and presidential elections. Our original data analysis uncovers an interesting finding that female candidates consistently receive more coverage than their male competitors on stereotypically masculine traits and issue areas such as politics, economics, and international issues. This research represents one of the first attempts to examine the gendered nature of media coverage in Korea.
- keywords
- women and politics, electoral campaign, gender stereotyping, political communication
Reference
Aday, Sean., and James Devitt. (2001), “Style over Substance: Newspaper Coverage of Elizabeth Dole’s Presidential Bid.” The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 6 (2), 52-73.
Alexander, Amy C. (2012), Change in Women’s Descriptive Representation and the Belief in Women’s Ability to Govern: A Virtuous Cycle, Politics & Gender 8 (4), 437-64.
Alexander, Amy C., and Christian Welzel. (2011), How Robust is Muslim Support for Patriarchal Values? A Cross National, Multilevel Study,International Review of Sociology 21, 249-76.
Alexander, Deborah., and Kristi Andersen. (1993), Gender as a Factor in the Attribution of Leadership Traits, Political Research Quarterly 46 (3), 527-45.
Atkeson, Lonna Rae., and Timothy B. Krebs. (2008), Press coverage of Mayoral Candidates: The Role of Gender in News Reporting and Campaign Issue Speech, Political Research Quarterly 61 (2), 239-52.
Bae, Hyun-jung. (2012), Candidates’ Women Pitch Sparks Rancor, Korea Herald, November 4. Accessed February 19, 2016, http://www.koreaherald.com/view. php?ud=20121104000182.
Barnes, Tiffany D. (2014), Women’s Representation and Legislative Committee Appointments: The Case of the Argentine Provinces, Revista Uruguaya de Ciencia Política 23 (2), 135-63.
Barnes, Tiffany D. (2016), Engendering Legislative Behavior: Institutional Constraints and Collaboration. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Barnes, Tiffany D., and Diana Z. O’Brien. Forthcoming. “Defending the Realm: The Appointment of Female Defense Ministers Worldwide,American Journal of Political Science.
Barnes, Tiffany D., and Emily Beaulieu. (2014), Gender Stereotypes and Corruption: How Candidates Affect Perceptions of Election Fraud,Politics & Gender 10 (3), 365-91.
Bauer, Nichole M. (2015a), Emotional, Sensitive, and Unfit for Office? Gender Stereotype Activation and Support for Female Candidates, Political Psychology 36 (6), 691–708.
Bauer, Nichole M. (2015b), Who Stereotypes Female Candidates? Identifying Individual Differences in Stereotype Reliance, Politics, Groups, & Identities 3 (1),94-110.
Bauer, Nichole M. Forthcoming. “The Effects of Counterstereotpyic Gender Strategies on Candidate Evaluations, Political Psychology, doi:10.1111/pops.12351.
Burrell, Barbara C. (1994), A Woman’s Place is in the House: Campaigns for Congress in the Feminist Era. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Bystrom, Dianne G., Terry A. Robertson., and Mary Christine Banwart. (2001), Framing the Fight an Analysis of Media Coverage of Female and Male Candidates in Primary Races for Governor and US Senate in 2000, American Behavioral Scientist 44 (12), 1999-2013.
Carroll, Susan J., and Ronnee Schreiber. (1997), Media Coverage of Women in the 103rd Congress, In Women, Media, and Politics, edited by Pippa Norris, 131-48. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Choi, Young Jae. (2012), Politicians’ Detailed Images, Autonomous Interpretation, Approval Effects—A Case Study of Presidential Candidates’ Images” [in Korean]. Political Communication Studies 26 (1),183-214.
Chung, Eugene., Ilhwan Kim., Beom-mo Kang., and Heung-kyu Kim. (2013), Statistics on the Use of Language in Korean Newspapers [in Korean]. Seoul:Somyong.
Conroy, Meredith., Sarah Oliver., Ian Breckenridge-Jackson., and Caroline Heldman. (2015), From Ferraro to Palin: Sexism in Media Coverage of Vice Presidential Candidates, Politics, Groups and Identities 3 (4), 573-91.
Diekman, Amanda B., Alice H. Eagly., Antonio Mladinic., and Maria Christina Ferreira. (2005), Dynamic Stereotypes about Women and Men in Latin America and the United States, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 36(2), 209-26.
Diekman, Amanda B., and Monica C. Schnider. (2010), A Social Role Theory Perspective on Gender Gaps in Political Attitudes, Psychology of Women Quarterly 34 (4), 486-97.
Dolan, Kathy. (2005), Do Women Candidates Play to Gender Stereotypes? Do Men Candidates Play to Women? Candidate Sex and Issues Priorities on Campaign Websites, Political Research Quarterly 58 (1), 31-44.
Escobar-Lemmon, Maria C., and Michelle M. Taylor-Robinson. (2005), Women Ministers in Latin American Government: When, Where, and Why?”, American Journal of Political Science 49 (4), 822-44.
Escobar-Lemmon, Maria C. (2016), Women in Presidential Cabinets: Power Players or Abundant Tokens? New York: Oxford University Press.
Escobar-Lemmon, Maria., Valerie Hoekstra., Alice Kang., and Miki Kittilson. (2016), Just the Facts? Media Coverage of Female and Male High Court Appointees in Five Democracies, Politics & Gender 12 (2), 254-74.
Fox, Richard L., and Eric RAN Smith. (2008), The Role of Candidate Sex in Voter Decision‐Making, Political Psychology 19 (2), 405-19.
Fridkin, Kim L., and Patrick J. Kenney. (2015), The Changing face of Representation: The Gender of U.S. Senators and Constituent Communications. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Goodyear-Grant, Elizabeth. (2013), Gendered News: Media Coverage and Electoral Politics in Canada. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.
Hayes, Danny., and Jennifer L. Lawless. (2015), A Non-Gendered Lens? Media, Voters, and Female Candidates in Contemporary Congressional Elections, Perspectives on Politics 13 (1), 95-118.
Heath, Roseanna Michelle., Leslie A. Schwindt-Bayer., and Michelle M. Taylor-Robinson. (2005), Women on the Sidelines: Women’s Representation on Committees in Latin American Legislatures, American Journal of Political Science 49 (2), 420–36.
Heldman, Caroline., Susan J. Carroll., and Stephanie Olson. (2005), ‘She Brought Only a Skirt’: Print Media Coverage of Elizabeth Dole’s Bid for the Republican Presidential Nomination, Political Communication 22(3), 315-35.
Herrnson, Paul S., J. Celeste Lay., and Atiya Kai Stokes. (2003), Women Running ‘As Women’: Candidate Gender, Campaign Issues, and Votertargeting Strategies, Journal of Politics 65 (1), 244-55.
Holman, Mirya R., Jennifer Merolla., and Elizabeth Zechmeister. (2011), Sex, Stereotypes, and Security: An Experimental Study of the Effect of Crises on Assessments of Gender and Leadership, Journal of Women, Politics, and Policy 32 (3), 173-92.
Holman, Mirya R. (2016), Terrorist Threat Masculine Stereotypes, and Candidate Evaluations, Political Research Quarterly 69 (1), 134-47.
Huddy, Leonie., and Nayda Terkildsen. (1993), Gender Stereotypes and the Perception of Male and Female Candidates, American Journal of Political Science 37 (1),119-47.
Hyun, Kyung-Mi., and Won-Yong Kim. (2005), A Study on the News Frame of Female Politicians in Newspapers: Frame Analysis of Coverage on Female Candidates in 17th General Election” [in Korean]. Media, Gender & Culture 3, 38-72.
Inter-Parliamentary Union. (2014), Women in National Parliaments. Available from: http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/world.htm.
Iyengar, Shanto., and Adam F. Simon. (2000), New Perspectives and Evidence on Political Communication and Campaign Effects, Annual Review of Psychology 51 (1), 149-69.
Iyengar, Shanto., Nicholas Valentino., Stephen Ansolabehere., and Adam Simon. (1996), To Be or Not to Be: Campaigning as a Woman, In Women, The Media and Politics, edited by Pippa Norris, 77-98. New York: Oxford University Press.
Jalazai, Farida. (2006), Women Candidates and the Media: 1992-2000Elections, Politics & Policy 34 (3), 606-33.
Jung, Hyun-Wook., and Sun-Nam Kim. (2012), A Study on the Subjectivity Structure toward Preferred News Report on Female Politicians” [in Korean]. Political Communication Studies 26, 153-81.
Kahn, Kim Fridkin. (1996), The Political Consequences of Being a Woman: How Stereotypes Influence the Conduct and Consequences of Political Campaigns. Columbia: Columbia University Press.
Kahn, Kim Fridkin., and Edie N. Goldenberg. (1991), Women Candidates in the News: An Examination of Gender Differences in US Senate Campaign Coverage, Public Opinion Quarterly 55 (2), 180-99.
Kang, Won-Taek. (2010), Change and Continuity in Korean Elections and Politics [in Korean]. Seoul: Nanam.
Keum, Heejo., and Young-Kyung Kim. (2008), Traditional Gender Stereotypes and Attitudes toward Female Politicians: Focusing on the Roles of Media Use” [in Korean]. Korean Journal of Broadcasting and Telecommunication Studies 22 (1), 7-43.
Kim, Hoon-Soon. (2004), Gender Frames of Korean Newspapers Women in Crime News” [in Korean]. Korean Journal of Communication &Information 27, 63-91.
Kim, Ilhwan., Eugene Chung., Beom-mo Kang., and Heung-kyu Kim. (2013), Handbook of “Trend 21” Corpus [in Korean]. Seoul: Somyong.
Kim, Jung-gi., and Jung-sook Song. (2001), Issues on Media Reports and Gender Stereotypes, In Issues in Korean Journalism [in Korean], edited by Jin-hong Kim, 105-43. Seoul: Bobmunsa.
Kim, Sun-Nam. (2002), An Analysis of Prostitution Related TV News Frame”[in Korean]. Korean Journal of Broadcasting and Telecommunication Studies 16 (2), 41-76.
King, David., and Richard Matland. (2003), Sex and the Grand Old Party: An Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Candidate Sex on Support for a Republican Candidate, American Politics Research 3 (6), 595-612.
Kittilson, Miki Caul., and Kim Fridkin. (2008), Gender, Candidate Portrayals and Election Campaigns: A Comparative Perspective, Politics & Gender 4 (3), 371-92.
Koch, Jeffrey. (1999), Candidate Gender and Assessments of Women Candidates, Social Science Quarterly 80 (1), 84-96.
Krook, Mona Lena., and Diana Z. O’Brien. (2012), All the President’s Men? The Numbers and Portfolio Allocations of Female Cabinet Ministers,Journal of Politics 74 (3), 840-55.
Lawless, Jennifer L. (2004), Women, War, and Winning Elections: Gender Stereotyping in the Post-September 11th era, Political Research Quarterly 57 (3), 479-90.
Lawrence, Regina G., and Melody Rose. (2010), Hillary Clinton’s Race for the White House: Gender Politics and the Media on the Campaign Trail. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Lee, Nae-Young., and Sung-Hak Lim. (2011), Changing Korean Voter 4, Analysis of the 2010 Korean Local Election Panel Studies [in Korean]. Seoul: The East Asia Institute.
Lee, Tae-hoon. (2011), Activist Park Elected Seoul Mayor, Korea Times, November 26. Accessed February 19, 2016, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/10/116_97399.html.
Leeper, Mark Stephen. (1991), The Impact of Prejudice on Female Candidates:An Experimental Look at Voter Inference, American Politics Quarterly 19(2), 248–61.
Lim, Mee-Young., Chang-Hyun Ahn., Kyu-sik Kam., and Hong-Sik Yu. (2010), A Study of the News Frame in Newspapers: Frame Analysis of Park Geun-hye in Chosun Ilbo and Hankyoreh” [in Korean]. Journal of Communication Science 10 (3), 457-98.
National Election Commission. (2010), The 5th Local Election Results in Korea, Election Statistics: Republic of Korea National Election Commission [in Korean]. Accessed February 19, 2016, http://info.nec.go.kr/main/showDocument.xhtml?electionId=0000000000&topMenuId=VC&secondMenuId= VCCP.
National Election Commission. (2011), The 4th Local Election Results in Korea, Election Statistics:Republic of Korea National Election Commission [in Korean]. Accessed February 19, 2016, http://info.nec.go.kr/main/showDocument. xhtml?electionId=0000000000&topMenuId=VC&secondMenuId=VCCP.
Niven, David., and Jeremy Zilber. (2001), Do Women and Men in Congress Cultivate Different Images? Evidence from Congressional Web Sites,Political Communication 18 (4), 395-405.
O’Brien, Diana Z., Matthew Mendez., Jordan Carr Peterson., and Jihyun Shin. (2015), Letting Down the Ladder or Shutting the Door: Female Prime Ministers, Party Leaders, and Cabinet Members, Politics & Gender 11(4), 689-717.
Palmer, Barbara., and Dennis Simon. (2010), Breaking the Political Glass Ceiling:Women and Congressional Elections. New York: Routledge.
Park, Ju-min. (2012), Is South Korea Ready for ‘Madam President’?” Reuters, December 11. Accessed February 19, 2016, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-korea-election-women-idUSBRE8BA1DZ20121211.
Park, Se Jung., Ji Young Park., Yon Soo Lim., and Han Woo Park. (2016), Expanding the Presidential Debate by Tweeting: The 2012 Presidential Election Debate in South Korea, Telematics and Informatics 33 (2), 557-56.
Paul, David., and Jessi Smith. (2008), Subtle Sexism? Examining Vote Preferences When Women Run Against Men for the Presidency, Journal of Women, Politics, and Policy 29 (4), 451-76.
Rosenwasser, Shirley., and Norma Dean. (1989), Gender Role and Political Office: Effects of Perceived Masculinity/Femininity of Candidate and Political Office, Psychology of Women Quarterly 13 (1), 77–85.
Sanbonmatsu, Kira. (2002), Gender Stereotypes and Vote Choice, American Journal of Political Science 46 (1), 20–34.
Sapiro, Virginia. (1981), If U.S. Senator Baker Were A Woman: An Experimental Study of Candidate Images, Political Psychology 2 (1-2),61-83.
Schneider, Monica C., and Angie L. Bos. (2013), Measuring Stereotypes of Female Politicians, Political Psychology 35 (2), 245-66.
Smith, Kevin B. (1997), When All’s Fair: Signs of Parity in Media Coverage of Female Candidates, Political Communication 14 (1), 71-82.
Swers, Michele L. (2013), Women in the Club: Gender and Policy Making in the Senate. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Wagner, Kevin, Jason Gainous, and Mirya R. Holman. Forthcoming. “I am Woman, Hear me Tweet? Gender Differences in the Use and Effectiveness of Twitter among Congressional Candidates, Journal of Women, Politics, and Policy.
Witt, Linda., Karen M. Paget., and Glenna Matthews. (1994), Running as a Woman: Gender and Power in American Politics. New York: The Free Press.
Yang, Jung-hye. (2002), Media and Portrayals of Female Politicians” [in Korean]. Korean Journal of Journalism & Communication Studies 46 (2),452-84.
Yoon, Youngmin., and Kyung-Hee Kim. (2008), Gendered Coverage in Television News, Journal of Broadcasting and Telecommunication 22 (4),201-36.
Yoon, Youngmin., and Yoomin Lee. (2013), A Cross-National Analysis of Election News Coverage of Female Candidates’ Bids for Presidential Nomination in the United States and South Korea, Asian Journal of Communication 23 (4), 420-27.
Youn, Ji Young., and Gunho Lee. (2014), Analysis of News Frames Regarding Gender and Political Leadership: With Cases of News Articles Covering 18th Presidential Election” [in Korean]. Korean Journal of Journalism &Communication Studies 58 (1), 199-225.
Yu, Sae-Kyung. (1997), Women and Media, In Lecture of Basic Journalism and Mass Communication [in Korean], edited by Chang-Sup Choi, 421-47. Seoul: Bumwoosa.
- Downloaded
- Viewed
- 0KCI Citations
- 0WOS Citations