some questions

Dear Committee members

I’m wondering if I need to find articles published in Korea which could account for poverty in Korea for literature review. Actually, I did but I wasn't able to identify academic articles with a journalistic approach in a Korean publication. However, I found one academic publication mainly examining urban poverty pictures with comparison between two prominent Korean photographer. But, again, I assume a journalist approach won’t be found there.

THIS IS PART OF LITERATURE REVIEW.-PICTURING THE POOR

THIS IS PART OF LITERATURE REVIEW.

PROOFREADING WILL BE COMPLETED IN A FINAL DRAFT.



PICTURING THE POOR



As our society becomes developed in many sectors such as policy-making, finance and social issues, it is likely that poverty has disappeared as less as our society becomes civilized. In addition, the gap between the rich and the poor becomes wider even though our society becomes modern. As participants of “Occupy Wall Street” movement in the late 2011 insist, the amount of wealth of the richest 1% of the population in the United States is the same of that of bottom 38% (Forbes magazine, 2011) Even if poverty can be witnessed everywhere domestically and internationally, portraying the poor has not been shown in media as much as it is. Thus, even though poverty is in anyplace, academic studies concerning poverty have not been conducted (Glens, 1996 ). However, there have been some researches about poverty conducted by some scholars such as Baran, Chaudlhary, and Lester and Smith (Glens, 1996).

When it comes to a social issue, it is rare for media including print and broadcasting media to cover the poor. It does not matter where we live. Poverty is everywhere. However, poverty has just occasionally appeared in newspaper and TV (Rendall, 2007) Even though media have covered poverty, their reporting and images have not been illustrated chronologically. It means that the portrayal of the poor shows up in media once in a while when the current issues, for instance, a new social policy affecting the poor are announced and a crackdown on the homeless staying overnight in Seoul Station sweep the media coverage. In other words, media have paid attention to poverty issues when poverty-related news such as new recent social policies signed by lawmakers and welfare. Bullock’s study was conducted in 1999 after the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act implemented in 1996. In addition, the media coverage on poverty can be based on an event-driven, not issue-driven. It is because of the nature of the media(Game, 2008). Reporter or photographers are likely to investigate poverty when poverty or poverty-related news dominates the news. Rendall(2007) found that the story of the poor rarely appear on U.S. TV news with an exception of the aftermath of Katrina and when media cover poverty, they are likely to report the reality of the poor with prosaic statement. In addition, deMause(2009) notes that poverty is covered by media as the economy crumbles during the recession on 2009. It reflects that the coverage of poverty in U.S. media rises when the issues causing poverty appear in U.S. It implies that the coverage tends to be an event-oriented rather than an issue-driven. In addition, it is more likely to be easy for readers of news to be exposed on an international poverty rather than the domestic poverty. (Lauren , 2011). International portrayals of the poor is seen in media more common than the domestic poverty because U.S. media try to frame U.S. as a superpower nation which cannot be degraded by the unfavorable images of poverty.

More importantly, media coverage on poverty has been stereotyped in a certain way. (Glens,1996). In addition, poverty is considered as a black’s problem. As Lauren(2011) stated that 75 % of all illustrated the poor were black, and 25% depicted other races. As Bullock(2001) indicates, the messages of the portrayals on poverty, especially to blacks, are as important as how many they are exposed in media. This is because audiences or viewers are more likely to be affected by the denote media deliberately delivers. Even though it is not easy to understand what media deliberately depict the impoverished, investigating the follow-up stories and images associated with them provides a clue of the messages. Entman(1995) found that how poverty is implicitly linked to other issues such as crime, drugs, and gangs through visual images on television news. His study of analyzing 239 stories shows that 39% portrayed poverty as a threatened element such as crime, violence, and drugs while 61% illustrated poverty as a suffering such as the lack of welfare, income disparity and poor medical aid. Media tend to perpetuate the stereotype of blacks, caused by the misrepresentation of them. Kennedy(2010) notes that media stereotyped the poor as uneducated, inability to be free from poverty and lack of capability. It portrays they are ‘lazy’, lack of motivation. Blacks are considered as a falsely welfare’s recipients. As Gilens (1996) indicates that Whites who think the poverty is mostly black's problem believe that blacks are given a falsely welfare benefits. Its belief of Whites has influences U.S. government's social policy to eliminate the poverty and provide the welfare to those deserved to receive. Females are likely to be stereotyped by media. Especially those who are welfare recipients are depicted by "the poster mother for welfare reform spends her days painting her nails, smoking cigarettes, and feeding Pepsi to her baby"(Douglas & Michaels, 2000). It is believed that people shape their perception and understand our neighbors through media. However, as the frame theory notes that otherwise media shape viewers’ perception and decide what they can see. Since what media has shown to readers heavily influences what and how readers think or know certain events, media’s misrepresentation distorts what otherwise readers should acknowledge. The misrepresentation of the poor shapes public misperceptions. (Gilen, 1996). The images of poverty of African Americans are so mostly illustrated in a negative way that viewers are likely to perpetuate viewers' belief of which they are the lack of competence and capability to get away from the poverty.(Bullock, 2001) Media can reflect the interests of dominant social group (Bullock, 2001). The mainstream media in the U.S. have been controlled by a big business such as NBC by GE. News including visual images are deemed to serve the institution's interests of which news makes it look nice. (Rendall, 2007)

Thus, media coverage on poverty is scarce in broadcast and print media. This is because many media elites who traditionally are whites pay a negative attention on the accurate and frequent the portrayals on poverty and those in power are not interested in the fact that the media portrayals can raise the public’s awareness to help the poor. (Lauren, 2011)

Media controlled by giant institutions which pay little attention to poverty are likely to avoid poverty narrative. Additionally, readers exposed frequently on media’s images, especially ones portraying the unprivileged suffering from an extreme poverty and diseases are voluntarily likely to avoid these images. (Sontag, 1973) In addition, those exposed on media’s graphic images such as war and famine become insensitive. It can cause readers or viewer not to recognize the misrepresentation of poverty. However, as Susan Sontag(Ibid) noted that people who have been exposed to those images containing a blood and a conflict are likely to be less sensitive, even they deem to avoid those image representing extreme symbols.

As indicated earlier, the day-to-day coverage on poverty is simply impossible by media. Thus, news of poverty is likely to appear on an event-driven basis. Media determine what news on poverty is covered with its subjective opinion. Their news selection is usually governed by the elites of media business, whom of them are whites. What they perceive, especially poverty is identified with news the public are exposed to. Consequently, the news might have a limited view of news on poverty.





Games, Dianna. 2008. The role of the media in the implementation of NEPAD and the African media's perception of progress in NEPAD. www.UN.org

Deborah L. Jacobs.2011, Occupy Wall Street And The Rhetoric of Equality, Forbes November 1

Entman, R. M. 1995, Television, democratic theory and the visual construction of poverty, Research in Political Sociology, 7

Sontag, Susan.1973. On Photography, Book(Korean),

Gilens, Martin. 1996 “Race and poverty in America: Misperceptions and the American News Media”, The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 60, No. 4.

Kennedy, Hill. 2010 “Global Poverty, Aid Advertisements, and Cognition: Do media images of the developing world lead to positive or negative responses in viewers”, New Zealand Journal of Psychology, Vol.39, No.2.

Clawson, Rosalee. 2000 "Poverty as we know it: Media portrayals of the poor", The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 64.

Bullock, Heather. 2001 "Media images of the poor", Journal of Social Issues, Vol.57, No.2

Krizay M. Lauren. 2011 "Begging for change: A comparative analysis of How the Media Frames Domestic and International Poverty",

Cara A. Finnegan. 2003 "Picturing Poverty: Print Culture and FSA Photographs", Smithsonian Books.

Rendall Steve. 2007 "The poor will always be with us, just not on the TV news", Fair magazine.

deMause Neil. 2009 "The recession and the 'Deserving Poor', Fair magazine, 2009

Douglas & Michaels. 2000. The mommy wars : How the media turned motherhood into a catfight, MS. Magazine

Dec. 19th field notes 3

A panorama view in the couple house.

Dec. 19th field notes 2

A 76-year old woman is making breakfast for her husband.



In the very cold day, she poses for a picture.





She pounds the door to let her husband know breakfast is ready.

Dec. 19th field notes 1

They have rented the impoverished rooms next to their house for earning some money.

On their steel door, the sign of '셋방', for rent, is seen. Ms.Son said there were very few people seeking their room due to the poor facility of the room.



Ms.Son has used a separate room from her husband.



Family pictures are seen on the wall.



Their kitchen is seen right next to her bedroom.

Dec. 8th field notes

A panorama view of their front yard. My camera lens is not wide enough to show their very small front yard.

Dec. 8th field notes

Three kids;Suyeon, left; Suhyang,middle; Sujin,right, hang out in the playground. Even though Sujin is a second girl in their family, she is very responsible for her family-feeding her baby brother, washing dishes and making lunch.

Dec. 8th field notes

Sujin, a second daughter, makes lunch while her mother is gone for making Kimchi in Sujin;s grandmother home. They just have a bowl of rice, a vegetable soup, a dried laver and fried eggs.

Dec. 8th field notes

Dec. 8th field notes

Their mother resumes to pick up used cardboard abandoned on the street. Her cart is seen in front of her home.

PART OF LITERATURE REVIEW-PHOTO-ELICITATION

THIS IS PART OF THE FIRST DRAFT OF LITERATURE REVIEW.

PROOFREADING WILL BE DONE IN THE FINAL DRAFT.



Photo-elicitation.

Due to the nature of the images, the one having polysemic meanings, the images are believed to a good tool for researchers to learn insights on them during the interviews. Even though the polysemic interpretations on images mean there is no a solid fixed interpretation, the character of images, on the other hand, is believed to provide a different glimpse on the images that otherwise verbal interpretation cannot decipher.

Photo-elicitation was first introduced by John Collier, the photographer and researcher, in 1957, Cornell University research team including him employed photo-elicitation to explore how families adjusted in a different ethnic community. The research team found that using photographs refreshed informants’ previous experiences and alleviated their misconception of what they had learned in their research.(Harper, 2002)

When subjects are exposed of the images during photo-elicitation, their interpretations are based on their social circumstances and their educations. Underlying those environments, the images are interpreted according to their way of thinking, previous expriences and the level of their understanding about the images’ surroundings. (Bignante, 2010)

Photo-elicitation awakens interviewee’s feelings and refreshes information on the images. It prompts their reactions and memories and discover their perspectives and cognition(Harper, 2002; Hurworth, 2003; Prosser, 1998). Consequently, due to the power of photo-elicitation ,researcher expects abundant dialogues about interviewees’ surroundings such as their private space and public square- community.(Holliday, 2000).

Compared to an oral interview, the inclusion of photographs can be a tool, as a connector, for both of interviewers and informants to narrow down the distance of them.(Wagner, 2002) In addition, interviewees might feel more comfortable when their interview is conducted with the inclusion of photographs. As Meo(2010) stated that images encourage participants in their dialogue and answer questions an interviewer poses due to the awareness of speaking about photographs. Interviewees might be more relaxed during interview in the presence of photographs where interviewees are taken or things taken they are familiar with. They might more focus on photographs presented in front of them rather than they gaze each other during face-to-face interviews.

Photo- elicitation have numerous advantages as Meo(2010) indicated as follows. they(photo-interviews) elicited longer and more enjoyable interviews; they enhanced the participation and control of interviewees; they offered a closer look at what and whom participants considered important; they reinforced what was already stated in the traditional interview.

Dec. 3rd field notes

In the cold winter, he is ready to work. Many seniors join this program of taking care of the vegetable field.



Products of some part of the field were already harvested to sell.

Dec. 3rd field notes

He is ready to work in front of a Chinese cabbage field.

Dec. 3rd field notes

Park has worked in the public center where some seniors have raised vegetables such as Chinese cabbages, the most importance source of Kimchi.

He has worked for 8 times a month in the center and earned $20 a day.

He woke up at 6am and took three buses to arrive, spending two hours in the bus.









His lunch bag is seen while he waits for a bus. He says there are a bottle of coke,rice drink and his lunch box.

Nov. 29th field notes

A night view from the other side of the elderly couple's house. Their village is experiencing a rapid urbanization.

SOME PROGRESS OF METHODOLOGY

THIS IS PART OF A FIRST DRAFT OF METHODOLOGY.

PROOFREADING IS NEEDED.





THIS IS JUST UPDATED METHODOLOGY AFTER WE TALKED NOV.15TH.



Photo-elicitation is employed in my study because, as Harper(2002) stated, it induces interviewees to provide their insights into photographs they witness in front of them. Due to the nature of photo-elicitation, its way could awaken informants’ unconsciousness when they try to interpret photographs while asked verbal questions associated with the photographs they look at. It means photo-elicitation is a good way for me, as a researcher, to have glimpses of what interviewees would perceive.

My goal for the interview is to gain insights of both of the subjects and outsiders on photographs they witness. I will use the same selection when conducting interviews.

Even though the interview will be conducted for two different groups; the subjects and outsiders, the photograph selection for interview will be the same. Otherwise, different picture selection will fail to obtain the glimpse of the same pictures which both the subjects and outsiders will interpret. It means that different picture selection according to the subjects and outsiders refrains me from comparing how the two interview group perceive the photographs.

However, I’m aware that the photograph selection for the subjects, the one which subjects can provide their insights more than others, does not mean that the selection is good for outsiders. For instance, the small pot on the steps can be a good selection which might have a lot of stories about what subjects have done with it, but outsiders would not know anything about it when being exposed of it.

Selection criteria will be mixed with natural photographs and photographs containing their activities. Even though natural photographs, the ones portraying their private spaces and places such as rooms and their items, might be more appropriate for photo-elicitation, the single criterion of picture selection might prevent outsiders from deciphering the natural photographs.

- general activity ; alone/ interactions among them.

- natural photographs ; their (private) places and personal items etc.

- activity; their works



For photo-elicitation, after I complete to photograph the subjects, between 8 and 12 photographs will be selected for the interview. Subjects will be given some time taking a look at them by themselves. After their first exposure to the photographs, they will be asked about their first impressions on them. Then, they will be provided additional time for second viewing, and be given some questions I prepare for.

The number of the interviewees including outsider is six - two from the family, eldest daughter and mother; two of the elderly couple and two outsiders.

Nov 18th field notes

Views from the top of the town.

I believe subjects would have stories during the interview if they see those.

Nov. 18th field notes

Some homes have been abandoned and the city try to rebuild them as a cultural center where tourists can access when visiting this village.



Children of the family go to the church where they can hang out and eat some food rather than they pray.



This village becomes a tourist destination where people, even foreign tourists can witness the most collectively undeveloped place in Busan, the second biggest city in Korea.

PART OF A FIRST DRAFT OF METHODOLOGY

THIS IS PART OF A FIRST DRAFT OF METHODOLOGY. A PROOFREADING IS NEEDED.

Methodology

For this study, two subjects will be selected and photographed to learn poverty in Korea. The point of selecting the subjects is to identify those who represent poverty in modern society  of Korea. In addition, in-depth depiction of poverty is of importance as well. For this study, photographing few subjects will be more efficient to deeply portray how poverty looks like in Korea. Thus, given future interviews committed, having few subjects is to avoid complication of viewing many different subjects and to let outside interviewees focus on and apprehend subjects. Therefore, I focus on two subjects who I believe well project poverty in Korea- particularly in Busan, a second biggest city in Korea. Two subjects are categorized by a family with children and an elderly couple living by themselves. Those different type of a family will project a different sort of a living style which can contribute a diversity of poverty. For instance, a family with children will allow me to view the interactions between parents and their children, and their children themselves. In contrast, an elderly couple is unable to show much interaction with each other. Furthermore, during interviews, the family with children would be expected to provide more insights into their relationships both between parents and their children and their children by themselves.

Another point when to select subjects is location of subjects - where they currently live in the city. First, the family with children has lived in a poor town believed to be the most vast poor area located near in Busan Port.  It is a well-known place where economically the underprivileged people have lived since Korean War in 1950. The fact that the place is identified with a historical site of retaining an old-fashioned living style attracts tourists -even foreign tourists. The family have lived in the place where historically the poor have resided. Second,  on the contrary, the elderly couple have lived in a town where it becomes so urbanized with the dazzling apartment complex surrounding their home. It means that the town recently experiences civilization except the couple’s house.   Therefore, the two different selection of subjects living in a unparalleled site is expected to glimpse a different aspect when it comes to show poverty in Korea.

I would choose 15 photographs for each of the subjects for an interview with them. During the interviews, all of the two subjects are questioned about the following questions.

Lists of questions

- Can you say about this photograph?

- What do you think this photograph means to you?

follow-up questions

-  What do you think it could miss in this photograph? -  

Rather than a collective interview with multiple persons, an individual interview with a single person will be implemented given the concerns whether their family members could interrupt their own responses. Another important point of interviews is that outsiders, not both of the family members, will be interviewed to learn how non-members of the family think about poverty I photograph. It will provide  different insights into poverty which outsiders think the subject reflects. Thus, responses obtained from outsiders will allow me to identify what I miss in my photographs. Who will be selected for outsider interviewees?

- social class economically

wealth - middle-aged person

poor- middle-aged person



- age and gender

young man

young woman

old man

old woman



Questions for outsider interviewees.

- What do you think the selection demonstrate about?

- Can you select, if you can, the best five(?) images which describe poverty?  and would you tell me why you choose them?

- What does  this selection misses to depict poverty? -

PART OF A FIRST DRAFT OF INTRODUCTION

THIS IS PART OF A FIRST DRAFT OF INTRODUCTION. A PROOFREADING IS NEEDED.

My interest in poverty has been back to when I first did my project portraying the poor living in a shanty town of Seoul, Korea in 2003. I was an intern in newspaper, the one who first illustrated the area, called ‘Chok-bang’ in the newspaper. My photographs were published in it and won in College Reporting competition. Ever since then, I unconsciously was interested in the poor whose their lives were not shown in Korean media well. Thus, I personally felt guilty of what I had and thought most of the poor deserved more than they did. This is because I believe their underprivileged lives were caused by this society, rather than caused by the lack of their assiduity or their natures. It means to me that our society should have taken care of them more and paid attention to their unfortune. I have learned that in most case, both Korea and U.S. media have not focused on poverty in their country for their own reasons. If I take a risk to generalize it, portrayals of poverty in U.S. media, in many case, are stereotyped due to colors and gender. In Korea, however, most media seem to have no interest in it with respect to its frequency of publishment in Korean media. When it comes to conservative media, its frequency becomes less. Lack of portrayals of poverty in Korean media and various stereotype of poverty in U.S. media prompted me to photograph poverty here.

What I am concerned about is whether these two subjects I am supposed to photograph could represent poverty in Korea. However, given the fact it is impossible for me to photograph all of the poverty in Korea, it is better to put more efforts to find subjects who, I think, reflect poverty well. It has encouraged me to spend more time identifying ‘ideal’ subjects. Having been refused by some subjects, I believed the two subjects I photograph are good enough for my project. I have built a good relationship with these subjects, but I keep worried if they someday notify that they do not like me to photograph them anymore. In my previous attempts to have subjects, some subjects, all of sudden, asked me not to take pictures of them, which led a failure of completing story-tellings. Even though I fully explained my intentions and plans to photograph them, some never seemed to understand why I want to photograph them in a long-term project. It has frustrated me to have them apprehended but I soon accepted what I faced and what they were. It is a good chance for me to keep a good relationship with both of two subjects beyond photographing them for my study. The more I get to know them, the better I feel I understand how they feel and what they have experienced.

I have focused on urban poverty in Busan, a second largest city in Korea, because I have stayed in this city for three years and I believe where I am is the best place I can explore. In addition to the size of city, this city has become modernized recently- there is a so-called biggest department store in the world and a tallest apartment building in Korea. However, because part of the absence of massive destruction caused by Korean War in 1950, this city has maintained both past and present. These facts, I believe, contribute to unparallel portrayals of urban poverty for my study. One of my subject, an elderly couple, is living near the highly-developed area of witnessing gentrification in this city. They have lived for nearly 60 years after their marriage. They raised three children before their children made their own family. The house looks impoverished compared to living conditions right near skyscrapers, their those are very poor- the lack of proper repairs of their home and basic needs. Things striking me is that they live in a separate room. Their activities happen in a different place except dining. The woman said they have lived together long enough and need a somewhat independence/privacy from each other. They sometime invite their neighbors to have dinner together. The couple know many neighbors around their house because they live here for many years. Their major activity that they do together is to offer prayer in other’s private home, They are religious with a quite unique belief of which some call it heretical stemming from Buddhism. They study and pray once a month with a small group of people sharing the same belief.

My second subject is a family with four children. They have lived in a historically poor village between mountains in Busan. It is one of the few remaining villages to see collectively poor living standards. They have rented their house for several years. Father have earned little money enough to feed his family. Mother used to pick up used items from garbage on the street but she was not able to continue to work due to her health issue. She is just taking care of her youngest baby at home. Their children spend time with themselves after school because most of their school friends join a after-school program. They play outside while passing through narrow aisles among the packed houses and watch TV while being in home.

Oct, 7th field notes

Oct, 7th field notes

They play outside.