MEDIA LITERACY EDUCATION TO PROMOTE CULTURAL COMPETENCE AND ADAPTATION AMONG DIVERSE STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY OF NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES IN SOUTH KOREA

Abstract

This dissertation examines how media literacy education can be implemented and practiced for North Korean refugees to enhance their cultural competency. It is conducted as a form of participatory action research, which pursues knowledge and progressive social change. As a participant researcher, I taught media literacy to North Korean refugees in five different institutions during the summer of 2008 for a period of three months. This dissertation reviews my strategies for gaining permission and access to these educational institutions to teach media literacy education. Since media literacy classes cannot be separated from current events nor from the media environments of the given period, the dissertation also presents the significant role that the issues of importing U.S. beef and the candlelight demonstration played in the design of media literacy lessons during the summer of 2008 and in the process illustrates the value of teachable moments. It is hoped that other media educators will see how I made a connection between current affairs and media literacy lessons. Since this dissertation aimed to address how media literacy education can be effectively used to enhance North Korean refugees' cultural competence, I as researcher adopted an emergent curriculum approach which incorporates what emerges in the classroom into the learning. Based on predetermined educational goals, on what emerged in the classroom, on students' reactions, and on my own reflections, I continuously modified lesson plans throughout the summer. While I tried various pedagogies and covered several themes in the class, I selectively presented six different lesson models in this dissertation. The first lesson model includes drawing and talking about the mapping of students' media experiences. I started the initial class at each institution with this media mapping. As students drew and shared their media maps, they were able to reflect upon their own media usage. I also was able to gain better knowledge and insight about their media experiences. This exercise also allowed me to set the tone of the class as a comfortable venue in which students could honestly share their stories; as a result, the students were able to gain confidence in sharing their thoughts and experiences. The second lesson model used the film Crossing, the fictional film about North Korean refugees. Using this film in the lesson created an atmosphere in which students could talk freely about issues of North Korea and North Korean refugees. While the issues of North Korea refugees and North Korea are very sensitive topics for discussion between native South Koreans and North Korean refugees, the act of discussing this film naturally led students to share their stories about being North Korean refugees. The groups' deconstruction of this film also provided an opportunity to learn how media stories are purposely crafted and represent only a certain part of reality. The third model incorporated in-class reviews of different media sources related to the film Crossing -such as articles in women's magazines, film magazines and newsmagazines, blogs, internet fan cafes, official sites of the film, and the star ratings at the portal site. Critically analyzing these media sources informed students of the various purposes of the media and offered the possibility of participation in the public discourse. Because North Korean refugees are not familiar with the various possible uses of the media, they found it helpful to see effective ways to utilize the media to accomplish various goals. In addition, this activity was a valuable way by which to teach the concept of target audience, helping the students to see how different target audiences influence the emphasis, format, and style of media content. The fourth lesson model incorporated comparisons of different news sources about the candlelight demonstration. This helped students to understand the variety of views and tones of different news sources that are influenced by their own history and political affiliations. By closely examining what factors impacted the creation of the news stories and their influence on the public, students started to acknowledge the importance of critically examining media messages and locating a reliable news source that they could trust. The fifth lesson model was the stereotyping activity. Students reflected upon their own stereotypes that they had toward others and how the prevalent images of certain groups of people are influenced by the media. This lesson encouraged students to think about the importance of conveying a balance of varied images of different groups of people so that these people could not be misunderstood and stereotyped by others. The six lesson model involved watching and discussing documentaries about North Korean refugees in order to help students to better learn how the same group of people can be differently represented based on the purpose of the film and the knowledge and perspective of the producers. As two of the four documentaries discussed were created by teenage North Korean refugees, students also were inspired and learned how direct participation in producing the stories which they felt were important could make a difference. Ultimately, students who earlier had considered themselves as inadequate and incapable started to see that they themselves are valuable and that their voices are important, and therefore they can have a meaningful impact on others and on society.