The Discursive Constructions of North Korea and the United States

Abstract

Drawing on the insights of discourse theorists and constructivists, this paper aims to examine the notable identities and representations of North Korea and the U.S. constructed on Fox News in the period of U.S. President Barack Obama’s first term. Through the analysis of Fox News opinion columns, this paper finds some notable conceptual clusters around which the negative identities of North Korea are constructed, such as “rogue,” “nuclear,” “despot,” “criminal,” “enemy,” “unpredictability,” “danger,” “problem,” and “importance.” In relation to North Korea, the U.S. tends to be identified and represented as the most indispensible, respectful, and generous country leading the world for democracy and freedom against growing global threats. The contrasting identities of North Korea and the U.S. on Fox News are a discursive ground on which tension and conflict are justified and instigated. Raising a need for relativism about the assumption of one’s moral superiority over the other, this paper argues for paying more attention to the ways of deconstructing antagonistic identities and representations between them.