The Digital Political Communication of South Korean Politicians (original) (raw)

Trends in online networking among South Korean politicians--A mixed-method approach

Government Information Quarterly, 2009

In recent years, as information technologies have grown in sophistication and become more fully integrated into daily lifestyles, a general expectation has arisen that the internet has the potential to reconfigure social and political relationships, and to create new political configurations. Blogging, in particular, has been seen to have significant potential to merge the public and the personal in new ways, potentially altering the nature of politics, particularly in nations where political processes are formalistic and highly regulated. As an example, politicians who blog have developed a new approach to communicating with their constituencies, in that the private thoughts of the political actor are expressed in a relatively unmediated environment. This study, which examines trends in blog linkages among Assembly members in Korea, provides a longitudinal analysis of blog linkages in order to assess the long term implications of new media technologies in Korean society and politics. The data were gathered from the blogs of Korea''s National Assembly members for 2005 and 2006. An analysis of these links indicates that, indeed, there is an increased use of blogs among National Assembly members. However, it seems that over time, the network becomes sparser, less integrated, and more decentralized. This study also suggests that offline imperatives for political organization figure prominently in the motives of establishing online linkages to other political blogs.

Socio-Communicational Structure among Political Actors on the Web in South Korea The Dynamics of Digital Presence in Cyberspace

New Media & Society, 2004

This article examines the current structure of the sociocommunication network among Korean political parties and politicians on the world wide web and how the structure has changed over the last two years. The communication network is defined by the existence of hyperlinks among websites. The data were obtained from the homepages of Korea's parties and national assemblymen for 2000 and 2001. The results indicated that the network has become denser, more highly integrated, centralized and interactive over time. ...

Socio-Communicational Structure among Political Actors on the Web in South Korea

New Media & Society, 2004

This article examines the current structure of the sociocommunication network among Korean political parties and politicians on the world wide web and how the structure has changed over the last two years. The communication network is defined by the existence of hyperlinks among websites. The data were obtained from the homepages of Korea’s parties and national assemblymen for 2000 and 2001. The results indicated that the network has become denser, more highly integrated, centralized and interactive over time. This suggests increased use of the world wide web for political discourse in Korea.

Internet politics: A comparative analysis of US and South Korea presidential campaigns

2007

Abstract To investigate the role of information and computer technologies (ICTs) in political campaigns, this paper discusses three areas of influence in particular (fundraising, civic participation, and e-mobilization), identifying similarities and differences between the US and South Korea. The result of our analysis shows that the impact of the Internet on the two presidential elections differed in all three areas.

Internet Politics in South Korea: The Case of Rohsamo and Ohmynews

Australasian Conference on Information Systems( …, 2007

This paper examines the impact of the Internet on politics in South Korea. Many have noted the Internet's political potential due to its versatile nature as a communication medium. However, recent studies are beginning to show the influence of the Internet to be more moderate ...

Political Communication in Malaysia: A Study on the Use of New Media in Politics

To gain and retain political power, politicians use the media to persuade the masses to vote and support them, especially during elections. Barisan Nasional (BN) has successfully used the media to maintain its power for the past 57 years, making it the longest-serving elected government in the world still currently in office. However, the emergence of the Internet has challenged the status quo. The purpose of the research was to investigate how new media has influenced the political process and communication strategies in Malaysia and its impact on the political landscape. The researcher interviewed 19 respondents: politicians, bloggers and media consultants from both sides of the political divide. The findings showed that new media, especially Web 2.0, has expanded the public sphere and enabled more Malaysians to participate in the democratic process, through information dissemination, mobilisation or crowd-sourcing. However, the cyber-war between BN and the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has caused confusion and disinformation, affecting the quality of democratic decision-making. Nevertheless, new media has enabled more voices to emerge and challenge the political hegemony. Communication is increasingly two-way, with the public expecting greater engagement and interactivity with their political representatives. The Internet and social media have led to unprecedented complexity in the political communication process in Malaysia. External factors such as the electoral system and political institutions play a part in determining whether ideas spread by social media can find fertile ground in the polity which can ultimately bring about political change.