Episode 5: Distrust in the government and justice system in South Korea
- UBC
- Oct 12, 2018
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 14, 2018
By: Daniel Mun
SYNOPSIS
Perplexed about the current turn-out on the case, Si-mok is joined by Yeo-jin in visiting the escort's home for clues about her connection to the case. Dong-jae visits the police station to give an input about the case. While Yeo-jin is searching for the escort's real identity, Si-mok is anonymously accused as the escort's abductor. As the police attempt to take him away for questioning, they are interdicted by a defensive Chang-joon. Though attesting of Si-mok's innocence, Yeo-jin is also midly suspicious about him herself.
Image via www.dramabeans.com
Synopsis via www.wikipedia.com
DISCUSSION
Distrust in the social and political institutions is an ongoing global issue that is especially common in South Korea. According to the data of the World Values Survey, a consistent decrease in trust of both political and social institutions is seen from 1981 – 2014 (World Values Survey). The drama Stranger not only depicts society’s distrust in public officials, but it also provides explanations for this phenomenon. Part of the declining trust is due to media criticism and corruption.
The Media in South Korea is very powerful and influences the public’s thoughts. As discussed in our lecture, following the freedom of press in 1987, the Media has turned more neutral, if not critical towards the government. By aggressively criticizing the government and rapidly spreading, the Media impacts the public’s level of trust in social and political institutions (Jung & Sung 2012, 42). While this can be used in favour of the government, that is not shown in episode five of Stranger. In this episode, the Media questions “if [the police] are actually determined to catch the culprit” and asks how many lives will be sacrificed for the safety of the country (Netflix, 19:58). By condemning the police on national TV, the Media is able to successfully influence the public’s perspective on the murder case and the police. Bringing this topic to the public in a negatively opinionated way can lead to the distrust of public officials as it indirectly stresses the public to choose a side. Thus, criticism through the Media affects society’s stance in public officials which will impact the level of trust of society in these institutions.
Corruption is another factor that leads to the decline of trust in social and political institutions. A study suggests that lower levels of trust in political institutions are related to the perceived corruption (Chi, Rhee & Kwon 2013, 212). In addition, another study suggests that South Koreans would rather trust a stranger than the government (Park 2008, 131). In the drama Stranger, many with high authority and position have been bribed by Bak Museong, a sponsor providing money and women. Violation of public trust by public servants like Yi Changjun, a Deputy Chief Prosecutor, is a huge deal especially because of his position in the justice system. Political distrust in South Korea comes naturally as public officials fail to respect the principles of democracy.
Criticisms from the Media and corruption are some of the major contributors to the low levels of trust in social and political institutions in South Korea. By distrusting the government, there can potentially be higher regulation and more corruption which will, as discussed above, only negatively impact the current level of trust (Swanson 2016). Stranger shows a case of a corrupt justice system being exposed to the public through the Media. Public officials should act favourably to regain the trust that is continuously declining.
(Word Count: 476)
QUESTIONS
1.
In most surveys relating to confidence of political and social institutions that has been conducted by the WVS, the younger generations (< 29 years) tend to lack confidence compared to the older generations in South Korea. Why do you think this is the case? Do you think it is likely for this trend to continue?
2.
Why would a lower level of trust in government be critical to a country? Although there have been many reforms in South Korea, why hasn’t the level of trust increased? What actions from the government would it take for you to regain trust in a government you lack confidence in?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chi, Eunju, Yangho Rhee, and Hyeok Yong Kwon. "Inequality and Political Trust in Korea."
Korea Observer 44, no. 2 (2013): 199-222.
Jung, Yong-duck, and Sea Young Sung. "The Public’s Declining Trust in Government in Korea." Meiji Journal of Political Science and Economics 1 (2012): 36-48.
Park, Sung-Hyeok. "The Nature of Korean Legal Culture and Challenges of Law Related Education in Civic Education." The SNU Journal of Education Research (2008): 123-38.
Swanson, Anna. "Americans Are Less Trusting than Ever Before. That Could Also Make Us Poor." The Washington Post, August 26, 2016. Accessed October 10, 2018.
www.washingtonpost.com.
World Values Survey Association. World Values Survey. 2018. Accessed October 10, 2018.
www.worldvaluessurvey.org.
Form question one, I think this trend is not only a Korean thing, but a universal trend. The reason I think this is because of the fact the fact the older generations have more experience about life in general. Like everyone's opinion in the comments, I think younger people have limited knowledge about political and social institutions. It doesn't help much that many adults purposely shelter their kids from learning politics until they grow up. Adolescents are pushed away from knowing about reality until they get the right to vote; when this happens, they are suddenly exposed to all these various situations in society without a firm opinion on anything. This is what makes them less confident compared to th…
Hey everyone,
Great essay and questions from Daniel.
You all brought up great points about the levels of political confidence vs. access to knowledge between older and younger generations. Wonny’s point regarding brainwashing is especially poignant - especially in Korea pre-democratization, thought control (tied into nationalism) is a big deal, and past generations didn’t have the wherewithal to seriously consider constructive, liberalist solutions like the younger and more mobile generation can. But the older generation also doesn’t understand the reality that Korea has become, and what the younger generations are struggling through. And if they can’t even trust their information sources, that creates a very ambiguous situation for young voters. I think what we discussed a couple of classes ago…
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I do also agree that experience matters a lot in terms of confidence in political and social institutions. It is true that if one is more experienced, then he/she would be more confident in his/her choices - to know which alternatives would be more beneficial to the country in a whole. I think this idea is likely to continue in the future due to the fact that younger generations are still finding their ways and values through their surroundings and knowledges, whereas older generations have had a certain degree of experiences. However, to examine this phenomenon from a different perspective. Due to the technology services we have nowadays, more and more information is available everywhere, especially on the internet.…
Hmmm, I don't think the media has turned more critical of the gov't. There are only two substantial (in terms of readership) liberal news agencies, and most of the rest (all the biggest ones) are rather conservative and generally pro-gov't. The episode should be cited as, for example (ep. 5, 13:43-14:02) -- not as "netflix."
Fix the Romanization in the synopsis (I know you didn't write it, just be consistent).
When you want to cite something like the Swanson which is discussing the US, you should make it clear in your paragraph that "Similar to the case in the US, in Korea ..." or even "As reporter Anna Swanson asserts in the case of the US, ..." -- You can't…
I think this generational gap can be partially explained by the history of Korea. If we look at a voter who is say, 60, that would take us back to 1958. The tremendous changes in South Korea throughout this period are quite staggering. This includes the democratization of South Korea in the 80’s. The older generation would then, likely, have greater trust in the institutions which brought South Korea so much wealth and prosperity. On the flip side, younger voters who do not have this sort of lived experience, perhaps turn to other nations - which have longer traditions of democratic practices - and feel disillusioned with their own government. Again, this is just one of, likely, a multitude of…