South Korea’s North Korean Image Problem: Human Rights under the Spotlight

ABSTRACT

The 2014 United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea (UN COI) had a decisive impact on South Korea’s approach to North Korea’s human rights abuses in the several years following its release. This article interprets moves within South Korea to support the UN COI’s recommendations as taken in the interests of ontological security, or a stable sense of identity, which has also driven the state’s broader initiatives on image management and nation branding. It extends the boundaries of nation-branding research by considering why and how a state may adopt policies that enhance its moral visibility and reputation in world affairs. It considers how a positive reputation is enhanced by demonstrating good international citizenship, promoting the visibility of state identity parameters beyond its culture and core industries. This article interprets the South Korean government’s efforts to act on North Korean human rights following the UN COI, as well as the significance of being seen to be doing so at home and abroad as security-giving behaviour asserting its moral authority in relation to North Korea. It explores how a longstanding policy of relative silence on North Korea’s human rights record acceded to identity-driven pressures arising from the UN COI and influencing South Korea’s international image-management strategy between 2014 and 2017.

KEYWORDS:

• South Korea
• North Korea
• human rights
• identity
• nation branding
• ontological security

Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by the Academy of Korean Studies.

Notes

1. The Korea discount describes a tendency by investors to undervalue Korean stocks, due to a perceived higher investment risk based on possible capital flight. One of the main reasons cited for potential capital flight is South Korea’s proximity to, and political rivalry with, North Korea (Heckman, 2010).

2. The Act states its intention to “contribute to the protection and improvement of human rights of North Korean people by pursuing civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights enshrined in human rights treaties” (KINU, 2016, p. 3). Its key provisions include: the establishment of an advisory committee on human rights; the pursuit of inter-Korean human rights dialogue; aid delivery to North Korea; appointment of an ambassador for North Korean human rights; the establishment of a foundation for human rights; and the establishment of a centre for investigation and documentation (KINU, 2016, p. 3).