Individualization or Privatization of the North Korean Leader? Different Types of Media Personalization About Kim Jong-Un

Abstract

ABSTRACT North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un, until recently an important yet relatively unknown figure in international politics, has begun to receive increased attention in the international media. Based on the concept of media personalization, this study examined whether the news media focused on Kim Jong-Un’s political traits and activities – i.e., media individualization - or on his apolitical characteristics – i.e., media privatization. By content analyzing 2,045 news articles about Kim Jong-Un published in South Korean and U.S. newspapers between 2012 and 2018, this study found that media individualization was more prevalent than media privatization. The number of news articles focusing on Kim’s political traits and activities was about three times greater than articles that emphasized Kim’s apolitical characteristics. Compared to news coverage about his public role, articles about his apolitical aspects were more negative. The results also showed a positive correlation between the political stance of South Korean news organizations toward North Korea and the degree of media privatization of Kim Jong-Un: that is, in South Korea, conservative newspapers were more likely than liberal newspapers to focus on Kim’s personal characteristics and life, and the tone of that coverage was more negative.