Volume 24, Number 1 (2025)
Published Jun 30, 2025 · 4 articles
Research Article · pp. 1-24
Networked Publics and Election Discourse: A Semantic Network Analysis of the 2024 South Korean General Election on YouTubeMina Seo, Joon Ho Kwak
This study maps the semantic networks of election-related YouTube discourse during the 2024 South Korean general election. Drawing on 48,000 comments across 320 channels, we identify polarized issue publics and show that cross-cutting exposure is concentrated in a small set of bridge channels. The findings extend theories of networked publics to algorithmically curated video platforms and offer implications for election communication policy in East Asia.
semantic network analysisYouTubeSouth Koreaelectionspolarization
Research Article · pp. 25-51
Triple Helix Dynamics in Vietnam's Semiconductor Ambitions: University–Industry–Government Linkages in an Emerging EconomyThi Lan Nguyen
Vietnam has positioned semiconductor manufacturing at the center of its industrial strategy. Using the Triple Helix framework, this article analyzes 214 university–industry–government agreements signed between 2018 and 2024 to assess how institutional linkages are forming around the chip sector. Results indicate government-led coordination with thin university involvement, suggesting a statist configuration that may constrain long-run innovation capacity.
Triple HelixVietnamsemiconductorsinnovation policySoutheast Asia
Research Article · pp. 52-78
Digital Diaspora and Homeland Politics: Chinese Student Communities on WeChat and Xiaohongshu in AustraliaYuqing Chen, Daniel O'Connor
Through a year-long digital ethnography of Chinese international student communities in Australia, this article examines how platform affordances of WeChat and Xiaohongshu shape engagement with homeland politics. We find platform-differentiated repertoires: political talk is sublimated into lifestyle framing on Xiaohongshu while WeChat sustains bounded deliberation within trusted circles.
digital diasporaWeChatXiaohongshuChinese studentspolitical communication
Research Article · pp. 79-102
Aging Societies and Care Robotics: Public Acceptance of Elder-Care Technology in Japan and South KoreaKenji Tanaka
Japan and South Korea face the world's fastest population aging and are investing heavily in care robotics. Drawing on comparative surveys (N = 2,400), this study models the determinants of public acceptance of elder-care robots. Trust in government technology policy and prior exposure to service robots outperform demographic factors, with distinct national patterns rooted in welfare-state trajectories.
aging societycare robotsJapanSouth Koreatechnology acceptance