Backsliding Kills Video Stars: The Case of Blacklists in South Korea

• In Event: Poster Session: Democracy and Autocracy (II) & Class and Inequality
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Democracy and Autocracy (II)

Abstract

How does democratic backsliding suffocate dissenting voices? Recent research maintains that democratic backsliding leaves negative imprints in various political and social domains. Despite numerous descriptive accounts, only limited research shows how backsliding undermines freedom of speech, a fundamental underpinning of a functioning democratic political regime. Highlighting the backsliding period of South Korea (2008--2017), the paper documents the egregious case of deliberate infringement upon citizens' freedom of speech. In particular, it focuses on the consequences of the 'Blacklist,' a secret list of artists regarded by the authorities as 'anti-government.' Using a difference-in-difference model on original worker-level panel data, I report that the lists have had a perverse effect on the careers of Korean movie workers, particularly those out of public sight. Not only did the list bring about this effect through direct government operations, it also led to voluntary censorship in the movie industry, thereby amplifying the impact on a broad swath of victims. This paper contributes to our understanding of the cultural consequences of democratic backsliding by demonstrating how the autocratizing government's need to influence public discourse manifests into greater social costs.

Author

• Byunghwan Son, George Mason University