earticle

영어

This study critically examines how South Korean media reported and represented the naturalization of former short-track speed skater Lim Hyo-jun (Chinese name: Lin Xiaojun). Once celebrated as a “national hero” after winning a gold medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Lim underwent a series of events?including a sexual harassment allegation, acquittal, and eventual naturalization to China?that shifted his media portrayal from “hero” to “fallen star,” “traitor,” and ultimately “Chinese athlete.” Drawing on 492 news articles published between February 1, 2018, and March 31, 2023, this study employs a discourse and narrative analysis rather than quantitative frequency counts, tracing changes in context, tone, and symbolic signifiers across distinct periods. The findings reveal that media narratives initially combined themes of injury recovery and filial piety to construct a “hero” image, which was replaced by a “fallen star” frame after the sexual harassment case. Following his naturalization, coverage increasingly mobilized nationalist sentiment through a “traitor” narrative. Upon his return to competition in South Korea as a Chinese national team member, he was repeatedly represented as an “athlete under the Five-Star Red Flag,” consumed as a symbol of ethnic rivalry regardless of athletic performance. Such narrative shifts illustrate the discursive mechanisms through which an individual’s choice to change nationality is reframed as a matter of national identity and ethnic boundaries. Ultimately, this study demonstrates how sport mediates between globalization and nationalism, revealing how naturalized athletes acquire and circulate specific socio-cultural meanings in media discourse. The findings offer a foundation for reflecting on the cultural-political implications of naturalized athlete narratives in sports media practices and public sports consumption.