ISSN : 0023-3900
This study examines how the print media responds to an ongoinginternational conflict between South Korea and Japan. The media ofeach country are assumed to construct conflicting frames of referencereflecting the interests of their nations with regard to the issue ofDokdo island. The major purpose of this study is to gain an under-standing of the ways this unsettled issue has been used to mobilizeboth domestic and international political support. Content analysiswas undertaken to capture and present the differences in the newspa-pers produced by both the South Korean and Japanese press. Thisstudy suggests that a propaganda framework operates in the news cov-erage of Dokdo island. Both nations reproduced and reinforced stereo-types of the opponent nation, and served to stimulate further mutualmisunderstanding and antagonism through the news coverage of thedisputed island. The study concludes that the international conflictbetween the two nations is managed by the news media which alignswith the foreign policy objectives of the respective home governments.