• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.42
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• pp.168-204
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• 2008

According to the spiral of silence theory, perception of opinion climates influences willingness to express one's opinion. This study examines the relationship between opinion perception and opinion expression in different regions and issues. The results show that one's opinion and the intensity of opinion affect the expression of opinion about national and regional issues in Busan and Gwangju. People who perceive their opinions as majority are more willing to express theirs about national and regional issues in Gwangju, but not in Busan. Regression analyses show that perceived public opinion does not predict the expression of opinion in both cities. People who perceive their opinions more favorable about regional issue have lower intention to express their opinions than people who perceive their opinions same as others'. In summary, one's opinion and perception bias about controversial issues are important variables influencing expression of opinion, and the influence of perceived public opinion on opinion expression varies in different regions with different distribution of public opinion. This study found 'new hardcores' who perceive their own opinion as minor but more valuable and have the intention to speak out in places more difficult to express.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.66
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• pp.59-86
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• 2014

This study explored how rumor is diffused via Twitter and how the characteristics of rumor affect the interactivity among users in the Korea-U.S. FTA case. A key word search located three issues as major ones related to the Korea-U.S. FTA: appendectomy myth, collapse of health insurance, and increases in medicine prices. The arousal of rumor has two dimensions: fact and expression. The fact arousal was the highest in the issue of 'appendectomy myth', and the expression arousal the highest in 'increases in medicine prices'. The rumor diffusion took the 'explosive wave' in the issue of appendectomy myth, the 'latent wave' in the issue of increase in medicine prices, and the 'repetitive wave' in the issue of collapse of health insurance. Correlation analyses revealed a high correlation between the arousal intensity of rumor and the user interactivity in the issue of collapse of health insurance. The study showed that Twitter took a role of diffusing negative messages about the Korea-U.S. FTA. Results implies that government officials and journalists pay attention to Twitter for sensing the public opinion when building policies and managing crises.