Envisioning Unity: The Media Discourse in South Korea and Germany on National Unity. A Longitudinal Study on Emerging Transnational Public Spheres

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22032/dbt.57911

Keywords:

transnational public sphere, framing, legacy media, national unity, comparison Germany vs. Korea

Abstract

Using the example of the discourse on national unity in Germany and South Korea, this article examines the formation of transnational public spheres along long-wave political issues. It explores to what extent a similar political challenge of two states is conducive to the formation of a transnational public sphere. The findings of a qualitative analysis of frames in the reporting of South Korean and West German leading media on the process of German unification from 1989 to 1991 as well as the initiatives of South Korean President Moon Jae-In for peace and unification on the Korean peninsula in 2018 and 2019 are discussed. The study reveals indications for the emergence of a transnational public sphere with regard to all important indicators. However, this appears to be fragile and strongly driven by the fall of the Berlin Wall as a key event with global impact.

Author Biographies

Lars Rinsdorf, Cologne University of Applied Sciences

Lars Rinsdorf is professor for communication science at TH Cologne since 2023. From 2008 to 2023 he was professor for journalism at HdM Stuttgart Media University. He studied journalism and spatial planning at TU Dortmund and holds a PhD in journalism. His main fields of research are quality of journalism, local journalism, newsroom management and innovation in journalism. Before his academic positions he was head of research and development of a newspaper publishing house in Germany. Rinsdorf served as president of the German Communication Research Association (DGPuK) from 2018 and 2022.

Petra Werner, Cologne University of Applied Sciences

Petra Werner is professor for Journalism at TH Cologne since 2003. She studied journalism and sociology at TU Dortmund and holds a PhD in journalism. Her main fields of research are gender and media, journalism education, and health communication. She is member of the DITES research network at TH Cologne researching the impact of digitization in the field of social services.

Hwa-Haeng Lee, Tongmyong University

Hwa-Haeng Lee is professor for communication science at Tongmyong University. He studied media and communication science at the University of Bochum and holds a PhD in communication science. His major fields of research are media systems, public broadcasters, political communication, and quality journalism.

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Published

2023-07-18

How to Cite

Rinsdorf, L., Werner, P., & Lee, H.-H. (2023). Envisioning Unity: The Media Discourse in South Korea and Germany on National Unity. A Longitudinal Study on Emerging Transnational Public Spheres. Global Media Journal - German Edition, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.22032/dbt.57911

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2023): Spring/Summer 2023: Special Section: Diversity in Media Societies

Section

Peer-Reviewed Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Lars Rinsdorf, Petra Werner, Hwa-Haeng Lee

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.