Korean Discourse Research Articles

Types of Chinese Discourse Markers and a Comparison with Korean Discourse Markers

Types of Chinese Discourse Markers and a Comparison with Korean Discourse Markers

Korean discourse on mission: The spiritual vision for the nation of Rev. Kyung-Chik Han

This article takes up the theme of mission discourses by looking at how contrasting Korean Protestant mission theologies—church growth discourse and minjung theology—have been taken up to support international agendas. The context from which they come is illuminated through a critical study of the “spiritual vision for the nation” of Rev. Kyung-Chik Han, founder of Youngnak Presbyterian Church and national leader. It is argued that Han’s theology is a more mainstream discourse which arises from the period of colonization by Japan and the struggle for the nation, and that it has been distorted through being included under church growth. This investigation of Korean discourse on mission concludes with some observations about mission discourses more generally.

Holding Death at Bay vs. Prolonging Life: Indexing Fatalism and Optimism in the Ideology of Health, Genetics, and Family History in the U. S. and South Korean Media

Media discourse creates and shapes views of personhood, of possibilities, of wellness, and at the same time, these views and beliefs, in their turn, shape media discourse. Broadcasts of health-related edutainment programs and advertisements are rich sources for the discovery of stances concerning health and illness. We examine media discourse in the United States and South Korea, and uncover consistent indexical patterns pointing to overall ideologies of fatalism in the U.S. and optimism in South Korea. Specifically, from an indexicality-based perspective, we identify the patterned ways in which the ideologies of fatalism and optimism are indexed with regard to agency and stance. We provide evidence of the culturally distinct patterns of discourse that construct health and illness in the U.S. and South Korean media. In the U.S., heart disease and cancer are threats, medicines are omnipotent, and physicians, omniscient. “Death” is explicit and medicines and physicians hold it at bay. Korean discourse frames “life” as explicit underscoring efforts by doctors and medicines to prolong and enhance it. Implications associated with public health discourses employing diverse discursive strategies are discussed.

The History of the Present: Foundational Meta-Narratives in Contemporary North Korean Discourse<sup>*</sup>

The History of the Present: Foundational Meta-Narratives in Contemporary North Korean Discourse<sup>*</sup>

Nominal Reference in Korean Heritage Language Discourse

This study investigates nominal reference in Korean narrative discourse by heritage speakers of Korean whose dominant language is English. In particular, the study tests the Interface Hypothesis, which states that language structures involving an interface between syntax and other cognitive domains are difficult to acquire completely or are highly susceptible to attrition. Unlike previous studies, the results from a film retelling task reveal that heritage speakers used zero anaphora as frequently as L1 speakers. However, unlike L1s, heritage speakers employed more frequent topic/subject shifts across sentences and used zero anaphora for topic shifts. The overall results support the processing account for the Interface Hypothesis.

“Good Migrant, Bad Migrant”: Developmentalism in South Korean Discourse of Migration and Anti-Damunhwa

“Good Migrant, Bad Migrant”: Developmentalism in South Korean Discourse of Migration and Anti-Damunhwa

The Yasukuni question: histories, logics, and Japan–South Korea relations

This article argues that the problem of the Yasukuni Shrine between Japan and South Korea stems from the differential growth of Yasukuni discourses in both countries after the Pacific War. While the Japanese post-war discourse split into three schools of thought – Nationalists, Moderates, and Progressives – South Korean discourse has been consolidated into one dominant anti-Yasukuni perspective, largely shaped by Japan's political discourse and actions from the 1980s. This divergence created the perception gap between the two, resulting in a diplomatic obstacle that hinders Japan--South Korea strategic cooperation.

“UntilYouAre Able”: South Korean Multiculturalism and Hierarchy inMy Little Hero

My Little Hero (2013) is the first popular Korean film to focus on an immigrant narrative that features a non-Korean or biracial Korean-White lead. In the story of a young Filipino-Korean boy's “Korean dream” to be accepted by his father/birth country and his reluctant and cynical teacher, the film reifies dominant Korean discourses of multiculturalism that are situated within local and global hierarchies. Locally, Korean multiculturalism looks down, requiring the non-White multiethnic other to integrate into dominant culture. Globally, it looks up to seek the paternal acceptance of the United States. In the film, multicultural discourses work to support the instrumental assimilation of the multiethnic other for the purposes of assimilating Korea within the ranks of “advanced” countries.

Korean discourses on Japan, centering on the question of ‘objectivity' and 'universality'

Korean discourses on Japan, centering on the question of ‘objectivity' and 'universality'

The correlation between prosodic features and discourse functions of the Jeju Korean discourse marker ‘-kjeme’

The correlation between prosodic features and discourse functions of the Jeju Korean discourse marker ‘-kjeme’

A Study on the Chinese Correspondence of Korean Discourse Marker ‘Geureonde(그런데)’ -by Focusing on the Topic Development-

A Study on the Chinese Correspondence of Korean Discourse Marker ‘Geureonde(그런데)’ -by Focusing on the Topic Development-

Neoliberal Forms

This paper examines the co-implications of CGI filmmaking, US hegemony, and neoliberal financialization as manifested in Korea’s “IMF crisis cinema.” These films are populated by what I term neoliberal forms that epitomize the effort in this cinema to reflect on the innate proximity of popular filmmaking to finance, and specifically on the proximity between its own material apparatus and the economic apparatus that the IMF crisis inserted into the center of Korean public discourse.

Let's Go to the Moon: Science Fiction in the North Korean Children's MagazineAdong Munhak, 1956–1965

Science fiction narratives appeared in the North Korean children's magazineAdong munhakbetween 1956 and 1965, and they bear witness to the significant Soviet influence in this formative period of the DPRK. Moving beyond questions of authenticity and imitation, however, this article locates the science fiction narrative within North Korean discourses on children's literature preoccupied with the role of fiction as both a reflection of the real and a projection of the imminent, utopian future. Through a close reading of science fiction narratives from this period, this article underscores the way in which science, technology, and the environment are implicated in North Korean political discourses of development, and points to the way in which these works resolve the inherent tension between the desirable and seemingly contradictory qualities of the ideal scientist—obedient servant of the collective and indefatigable questioner—to establish the child-scientist as the new protagonist of the DPRK.

An Archaeology of the Human Sciences in Korea: With Some Thoughts about Translation in Early Twentieth-Century Korea

In the history of Korea, and also in the history of various discourses such as those of the sciences and literature, the Japanese occupation in 1910 is a big turning point. The discourse system before this turn and the system after it can be contrasted with each other. The present paper attempts to apply to the Korean scenario two discourse theories for the analysis of historical turns. It should be emphasized that only exemplary insights are given here. The first theory is by Michel Foucault. His Order of Things analyzes the pivotal moment about 1800 and contrasts the discourse system of Europe of the 17 th and 18 th centuries with that of the 19 th and 20 th centuries. The world was understood in the former through a tabular scheme, as in an encyclopedia, but in the latter, the world was understood according to the time axis, as in human sciences. This contrast can be compared with the contrast of the Korean discourse systems before and after the Japanese occupation. In the former, besides Confucianism, the principle of the spatial comprehension of the world was dominant. However, in the latter, the comprehension of the world was according to the timeline through human sciences, which were introduced from the West and Japan. The second theory is by Friedrich Kittler. His Discourse Networks 1800/1900 analyzes the historical turn around 1900 and emphasizes the materiality of literary discourses post?1900. The same can also be observed in the literature by the Korean Yi Sang, especially in the translation of his Japanese works into Korean.

The Metaphorical Meanings of the Korean Adjective chakhan in Korean Newspapers from 1990 to 2011

This research is about the recently created metaphorical meanings of the Korean adjective prenominal form chakhan. The focus is put on the following research questions: what are the new metaphorical meanings of chakhan?; are these new meanings accepted by the Korean discourse community?; what are the possible social factors that may have affected the creation of these metaphorical meanings? For the analysis, tokens of ‘chakhan + noun’ were collected from four Korean broadsheet newspapers published from 1990 to 2011 and examined to determine whether the adjective was used in its literal or metaphorical sense throughout the period. The analysis shows that there are roughly three different types of metaphorical meanings and that the Korean discourse community seems to accept these meanings because the metaphorical chakhan has become the preferred usage beyond the literal chakhan. In addition, the most preferred metaphorical meaning among the three types seems to have been created to amend the accumulated problems caused by neoliberalism.

Legacies of Japanese colonialism in the rhetorical constitution of South Korean national identity

Despite Korea's independence from Japan in 1945, collective memories of Japanese colonialism continue to shape South Korean national identity today. This article extends Charland's theory of constitutive rhetoric and reconsiders Billig's theory of banal nationalism to analyse key discourses of national memory in South Korea, including presidential speeches delivered on the Liberation Day of Korea (Gwangbokjeol) and exhibits at the Independence Hall (Dongnip Ginyeomgwan). This article examines how South Korean nationalistic discourses today, by fostering a sustained antagonism towards the Japanese, constitute a national identity in an inextricable relationship to the Japanese Other.

Korean TV drama discourse in the Cultural Discourse of Chinese Communist Party: A Discourse Analysis on ‘Cultural Industry’ & ‘Confucian Culture’(2002-2012)

Korean TV drama discourse in the Cultural Discourse of Chinese Communist Party: A Discourse Analysis on ‘Cultural Industry’ & ‘Confucian Culture’(2002-2012)

The use of the double form in Korean discourse

This paper addresses the use of the so-called double form – essess in Korean, which refers to the doubling of the suffix – ess. In the absence of much research attention on the double form compared to that devoted to the single form, this paper explores how the double form is used by ordinary speakers in contemporary Korean discourse. Language data collected from authentic corpora are analyzed, the manner in which different modes of communication, namely writing and speaking, affect the use of the double form is investigated, and the possible causes for any differences are discussed. The study analysis reveals that the double form is deployed for a wider variety of functions than previous research has assumed, while supporting the discontinuity sense as the overarching meaning of the double form. On the other hand, the two types of discourse show a discrepancy in terms of the distribution of these functions. The most frequently occurring function in written discourse is the double past sense, compared to the discontinued simple past function in the spoken discourse. This discrepancy in the most frequent function in the two corpora is attributed to the different natures of the discourse. The discontinuity sense, which is the essential meaning of the double form, comes from the intensification of the pastness involved in the single form.

Rhetorical questions as catalyst in grammaticalization: Deriving Korean discourse marker KETUN from conditional connective

This paper is concerned with a lexical item ketun, which has two functions in Modern Korean: as a conditional connective and as a sentence-terminal discourse marker. The discourse marker is typically found when the speaker clarifies, makes excuses, apologizes, provides background information, mitigates illocutionary forces, or redresses face-threatening acts (FTAs) à la Brown and Levinson, 1987. Despite its apparent direct connection, the character of the functional shift of ketun from a conjunction to a discourse marker is not immediately clear. To date, there is no satisfactory analysis of the grammaticalization processes involved. The chief reason for this seems to lie in the technical difficulty in describing the discourse marker; ketun is represented in a wide range of functional variations. Because of such functional multiplicity, the discourse marker ketun is often described in a diffuse manner, as the ‘explicative’ ketun, the ‘apologetic’ ketun, the ‘redressive’ ketun, the ‘background-laying’ ketun, and the like. The purpose of the present thesis is to provide a principled account of the discourse marker ketun by characterizing it as the ‘authenticative’ marker. This approach allows the essential function of the authenticative discourse marker ketun to be captured and reveals how ketun serves as an effective discourse marker. This paper also shows that the sentence-terminal discourse marker is a direct descendant of the ketun antecedent associated with rhetorical questions, which plays an intriguing catalyst role in the grammaticalization process.

한국어 학습자의 공손 표현 습득 연구－말레이시아 학습자의 요청 화행을 중심으로－

Lee Jeongdeok. 2010. 10. 30. A study on Korean language learner’s polite expressions acquisition: Focus on request speech act of Malaysian learners. Bilingual Research 44, 217-246. This longitudinal study was designed to investigate the polite expressions acquisition of L1 Malaysian learners of Korean. During 9 months 3 Malaysian learners participated in oral discourse completion tasks which examined learner’s use of polite expressions in Korean. At the same time I examined polite expressions use of 30 Korean native speakers and observed various devices to express politeness in Korean discourse. The polite expressions use of the 3 learners showed differences from the native speakers of Korean, especially learners transferred from their L1 expression to Korean polite expressions. And learners’s polite expressions showed individual differences between learners in the development process. In order to help learners develop their polite expressions use teachers need to provide various Korean polite expressions input. (Ewha Womans University)