Examining Korean political figures using co-word analysis in agreement with facial expressions in posted self-images

Abstract

This study combines online image content analysis and text content analysis of the homepages of political figures, specifically South Korean National Assembly members. The study attempts to explore the relations between (1) the types of facial expressions present, using the official photographs on the members’ homepages, (2) the textual contents of self-posted public profiles, again using members’ homepages, (3) members’ socio-political-demographic attributes, and (4) their web visibility and link counts on popular websites.

In a previous study, we examined the emotional content contained in facial pictures of South Korean politicians. The results suggested significant patterns between facial expressions, web visibility and the socio-demographic attributes of politicians. In this paper, we further explore the textual contents of members’ homepages using co-word analysis techniques to ascertain to what extent textual contents are in agreement with facial expressions in posted self-images. In addition, having employed co-word analysis we attempt to derive a strategic diagram of the 18th National Assembly based on clusters of key phrases and words posted on the members’ homepages. This approach allows us to investigate central and peripheral clusters of keywords and their distribution considering members’ socio-political-demographic attributes.

Keywords:

• Visual Content Analysis
• Emotional Content Analysis
• Online Visibility
• Web-based Campaigns
• Facial Expressions
• Candidate Web-sites
• Co-word Analysis