Bonding and Bridging Migrant Workers to Korean Society: A Study of Migrant Workers’ Television as a Counterpublic Sphere

Abstract

This article presents Migrant Workers’ Television (MWTV) inSouth Koreaas an example to show efforts made by migrant media to be a part of the public sphere. Relying on both public and counterpublic sphere theories, this article shows that media created by migrant workers inKoreaacts as a tool bonding migrants with each other and as a bridge between migrants and society. This is achieved through the activities migrants undertake while producing media. A content analysis of more than 200 program items produced by MWTV, a migrant worker media production nongovernmental organization, illustrates that MWTV’s programs strive to build a united community among ethnically diverse communities of migrant workers. Additionally, the article’s content analysis shows that MWTV reaches out to communicate with the general public as a counterpublic medium.