'Owning' the President: Netizenship, Candlelight Vigils, and the 2002 South Korean Presidential Election

• In Event: Global Rhetoric and the Rhetoric of Globalization

Abstract

In this essay I examine the convergence of South Korea’s nationalist and anti-American protests (“candlelight vigils”) and the Presidential election in 2002 on the rhetorical scene of the Internet. South Korea’s Internet users (“netizens”) redefined the discursive ground of the presidential election by intervening in the election and by simultaneously creating themselves as an alternative to mainstream politics.

Author

• Jiyeon Kang, Western Illinois University