Abstract

The present study compared the perception of Youngnam and Honam students about the differences between the two area people. One hundred thirty two students from a university in Honam area and 158 students from a university in Youngnam area were asked to write down anything came into mind concerning the differences between Youngnam and Honam people. The responses were content analyzed. Analyzed major content domains were response quantity, description style, historical backgrounds, ingroup and outgroup stereotypes, and direct/indirect contact experiences. There were significant differences between two samples on all of the content domains. The Homan sample gave more response than the Youngnam sample, however, the latter used more abstract and inconclusive expressions than the former. While reported historical backgrounds of Honam sample were mainly centered on the old times, those of Youngnam sample were on the recent time relatively. The ingroup and outgroup stereotypes of Honam sample were few in numbers and neutral in meanings. In a sharp contrast, the outgroup stereotypes of Youngnam sample were not only many but also extremely unfavorable. Experiencing direct interaction with the opposite group members seemed to produce un desirable effects; it seems to strengthen the stereotypic beliefs about the opposite group. This appeared to be more so with Youngnam sample. In explaining the differences, the Honam sample tended to attend to the discriminatory social structure in general; on the other hand, the Youngnam sample attended to the collective personality of Honam people. Overall, it seems that Youngnam sample have much more prejudiced attitudes toward Honam people, which is the opposite to the common belief that Honam people is much more prejudiced.