Exploring the Relationship between Exposure of Crime News and Contact Experience on Migrant Workers in Korea and Koreans’ Xenophobia and Social Distance against Them

Abstract

This study explores how the exposure of crime news on and contact experience with migrant workers in Korea affect xenophobia and social distance against them in terms of negative emotion, stereotype, and protection motivation (perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, response-efficacy, and self-efficacy). The data were collected from 388 college students. Results indicate that exposure of crime news on migrant workers in Korea has positive causal relationships on Koreans’ perceived severity and vulnerability on migrant workers’ crime. In addition, exposure of crime news on migrant workers in Korea is negatively associated with response-efficacy on the crime. Contact experience with migrant workers in Korea has positively influenced stereotyping of migrant workers and self-efficacy on migrant workers’ crime. Negative emotion, stereotype, and threat appraisal (perceived severity and vulnerability) of protection motivation on migrant workers and their crime in Korea have positively influenced Koreans’ xenophobia and social distance against them. Unlike previous studies, exposure of crime news on migrant workers in Korea has caused negative estimates on migrant workers’ crime while it has no influence on negative attitudes and perception of migrant workers. Experience of contact with migrant workers is shown not reduce the negative attitude towards migrant workers but rather is shown to reinforce stereotypes of them. In a period where Korea is becoming a multi-cultural society, it is necessary that alternative perspectives should be served to investigate the impact of news exposure of migrant worker crimes in Korea and Koreans’ contact experience with them on Koreans’ xenophobia and on the social distance between Koreans and migrant workers.