Unveiling stories in Korean smog : a critical discourse analysis of the air pollution policy of Seoul metropolitan government in Korea

Abstract: Air pollution caused by highly concentrated particulate matter is recognized as the biggest problem in Korean society. Since the problem is directly related to human life and local people's livelihoods, the demand for fundamental policies rather than short-term measures is growing. In this context, the strong policies of Seoul metropolitan government including emergency reduction measures which require citizens’ participation are getting attention and debate. Given the intense interest and urgency of this issue, the policy to address this issue has been actively discussed, formed, and framed by various social actors. These discursive constructions affect a broader range of social practices of the particulate matter problem and related policies. Through firstly conducting a survey on public perception of air pollution policies in Seoul, the current status of policy awareness and their methods of acquiring information were investigated. Based on the obtained understanding from the results of the survey, a critical discourse analysis was carried out to identify the roles and characteristics of discourse in political and media sectors on the air pollution policy. For this purpose, the textual, discursive practice and social practice were analyzed based on a three-dimensional model following Fairclough’s methodology. As a result of the analysis, several dominant discourses were extracted, such as public health discourse, Chinese attribution discourse, tax waste discourse, regulation discourse, and cooperation discourse. These different discourses were found to be often blended and competing with each other. The findings of the analysis suggested that there are explicit and implicit interactions between social actors, which are articulated in texts as discursive practices. And they sometimes reproduce the existing social practices to stabilize the dominant social orders such as the minimization of social costs for environmental problems and the maintenance of automobile industries' economic power. These results do not necessarily provide a negative view of the current situation. Through the interconnection of text and social practice analysis, the improvement of the current situation was suggested. It is achieved by understanding the various interactions and power relations inherent in discourses. This research also suggests the necessity of the efficient and accessible delivery method of the research results and the active attitude of a researcher about it as a starting point for improving the current situation. It also proposes to conduct a critical discourse analysis of policy-making process for a future research that can contribute democratization.