@article{ART003216208},
author={Jongwoo Kim},
title={FAR-RIGHT POPULISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOREA: FAR-RIGHT YOUTUBE CHANNELS AND REGRESSIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE POST-DECEMBER 3RD MARTIAL LAW},
journal={Journal of Human Rights Studies},
issn={2635-4632},
year={2025},
volume={8},
number={1},
pages={39-78}
TY - JOUR
AU - Jongwoo Kim
TI - FAR-RIGHT POPULISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOREA: FAR-RIGHT YOUTUBE CHANNELS AND REGRESSIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE POST-DECEMBER 3RD MARTIAL LAW
JO - Journal of Human Rights Studies
PY - 2025
VL - 8
IS - 1
PB - Korean Association of Human Rights Studies
SP - 39
EP - 78
SN - 2635-4632
AB - This article investigates how the concept of human rights is strategically articulated within far-right discourse on Korean YouTube channels. Drawing on a collocation analysis of 4,119 videos from 11 far-right channels uploaded between December 3, 2024 (the declaration of martial law) and April 4, 2025 (the impeachment verdict) and informed by Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory, this study identifies three core mechanisms through which far-right populism appropriates human rights discourse. First, a discourse of ‘selective human rights’ is constructed by portraying political elites as victims through narratives of ‘inverted victimhood’ while marginalizing the rights of minorities. Second, under a politics of antagonism, heterogeneous groups—including sexual minorities, Muslims, and North Korea—are linked through ‘chains of equivalence’ to form a unified ‘empty signifier.’ Third, a discourse of ‘institutional delegitimation’ undermines trust in human rights institutions by framing entities such as the Constitutional Court as components of a leftist cartel. These regressive discursive strategies instrumentalize the language of universal human rights to serve exclusionary political ends, transforming democratic disagreement into an existential conflict. This study contributes to the growing literature on the far-right’s articulation of human rights.
KW - Far-right Populism;Human rights;YouTube;Martial law;Regressive human rights discourse
DO -
UR -
ER -
Jongwoo Kim. (2025). FAR-RIGHT POPULISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOREA: FAR-RIGHT YOUTUBE CHANNELS AND REGRESSIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE POST-DECEMBER 3RD MARTIAL LAW. Journal of Human Rights Studies, 8(1), 39-78.
Jongwoo Kim. 2025, "FAR-RIGHT POPULISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOREA: FAR-RIGHT YOUTUBE CHANNELS AND REGRESSIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE POST-DECEMBER 3RD MARTIAL LAW", Journal of Human Rights Studies, vol.8, no.1 pp.39-78.
Jongwoo Kim "FAR-RIGHT POPULISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOREA: FAR-RIGHT YOUTUBE CHANNELS AND REGRESSIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE POST-DECEMBER 3RD MARTIAL LAW" Journal of Human Rights Studies 8.1 pp.39-78 (2025) : 39.
Jongwoo Kim. FAR-RIGHT POPULISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOREA: FAR-RIGHT YOUTUBE CHANNELS AND REGRESSIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE POST-DECEMBER 3RD MARTIAL LAW. 2025; 8(1), 39-78.
Jongwoo Kim. "FAR-RIGHT POPULISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOREA: FAR-RIGHT YOUTUBE CHANNELS AND REGRESSIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE POST-DECEMBER 3RD MARTIAL LAW" Journal of Human Rights Studies 8, no.1 (2025) : 39-78.
Jongwoo Kim. FAR-RIGHT POPULISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOREA: FAR-RIGHT YOUTUBE CHANNELS AND REGRESSIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE POST-DECEMBER 3RD MARTIAL LAW. Journal of Human Rights Studies, 8(1), 39-78.
Jongwoo Kim. FAR-RIGHT POPULISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOREA: FAR-RIGHT YOUTUBE CHANNELS AND REGRESSIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE POST-DECEMBER 3RD MARTIAL LAW. Journal of Human Rights Studies. 2025; 8(1) 39-78.
Jongwoo Kim. FAR-RIGHT POPULISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOREA: FAR-RIGHT YOUTUBE CHANNELS AND REGRESSIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE POST-DECEMBER 3RD MARTIAL LAW. 2025; 8(1), 39-78.
Jongwoo Kim. "FAR-RIGHT POPULISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOREA: FAR-RIGHT YOUTUBE CHANNELS AND REGRESSIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE POST-DECEMBER 3RD MARTIAL LAW" Journal of Human Rights Studies 8, no.1 (2025) : 39-78.
