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Synonymous with wealth and privilege in the country, Gangnam consists of three districts south of the Han River in Seoul -- Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa. But does the image really reflect the reality? Prof. Baek Seon-gi of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Sungkyunkwan University and Dr. Kim Nam-il have released semiological research based on analysis that a considerable portion of the concept of Gangnam¡¯s ¡°myth of invincibility" was created by the mass media.
¡ß Boundless competition and discrimination?
The academics collected and analyzed 850 scripts of KBS TV news on the three districts of Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa between 2000 and 2005. It shows that TV portrayed the area as a ¡°place of boundless competition", scene of an endless struggle for wealth and social status. The area was understood in semiological terms as a "land of opportunity and discrimination" where winner takes all. Meanwhile, values such as "community solidarity, living in harmony or neighborliness" suffered.
The upper class and social leaders were the class symbols of the area. By contrast, phrases like "second to Gangnam" and "the same services you would get in Gangnam" represented non-Gangnam areas. In this analysis, everywhere else can never quite catch up.
¡ß A symbol of Korea¡¯s social problems
The terms also reflect a convergence of socio-economic problems, caused by an economy that has grown rapidly in a short time. Gangnam symbolizes the upper class as people who made money illegally or dishonestly and the privileged.
TV news can reflect Koreans¡¯ dual attitude toward wealth. They regard consumption by Gangnam residents as "excessive spending" or "conspicuous consumption" even if rational consumption is an essential component of the capitalist economy. But no matter how often TV carries negative reports about some Gangnam residents' irregular behavior, people as a whole accept them as a natural abnormality that can take place in a successful area.
¡ß The invincibility myth
The myths created by TV news boil down to five points. The first is a ¡°success myth" implying that Gangnam is where successful people live. The second is a "dominant group myth" suggesting that upper-class people are concentrated in Gangnam and the area is not easily accessible. The third is an ¡°almighty mammon myth", showing that Gangnam residents are invariably rich. The fourth is an "aesthetic consumption myth", suggesting that Gangnam environments enjoy the best quality of living. And the fifth is a "privilege myth" according to which locals enjoy exclusive pleasures.
All that makes for a "myth of invincibility" that turns Gangnam into a symbol for upscale areas. All such myths produce desire and ambition, frustration and jealousy simultaneously. The ¡°symbolic configuration¡± of the three districts creates divisions of social strata based on urban district boundaries, the academics conclude.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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