'Story' Gauges Government Policy... Attention-Grabbing Paper Analyzing Low Birthrate Policy Through 'Narratives'

Need for Establishing and Managing a Policy Narrative Exchange Platform
...Applicable in Various Fields

Did you know that a 'story' can predict the formulation and success of government policies?

A paper that can enhance the effectiveness of the government's low birthrate policy and help devise measures has been published, attracting attention.

This paper analyzes the government's low birthrate policy as a 'story' by Jaeil Shin, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Storytelling at Dong-Eui University Graduate School. The paper, titled "A Study on the Analysis of Low Birthrate Policy Narratives Applying Generative Semiotics and Interpretive Semiotics Theories," was supervised by Professor Chiyong Kim, Director of External Cooperation (Department of Game Engineering). Shin will receive his Ph.D. on February 21.

Shin analyzed how the narrative of low birthrate policy storytelling is perceived and narrated among unmarried women. He also studied whether existing low birthrate values could be changed through policies utilizing storytelling.

The empirical research was conducted targeting unmarried female public officials, teachers, and employees of public enterprises. The results showed that unmarried women were aware of and highly interested in discourses about the causes and harms of low birthrate, but they had almost no memories of viewing these through storytelling.

This means that while policy storytelling exists, it has not yet reached a meaningful level. The study concluded that in the future, if a platform for exchanging such policy narratives is established and stories are managed under the concept of public goods, they can be usefully applied in policy.

Jaeil Shin said, "While observing the government's process of implementing low birthrate policies, I became curious about how much female employees truly empathize." He added, "I started this research with the idea that policies gain meaning not when recognized alone but when stories are exchanged with each other."

Professor Chiyong Kim, Shin’s supervisor, said, "Jaeil Shin is an excellent public official who believes that the value of a public servant increases when useful knowledge gained from public service is returned to the people." He emphasized, "This research is very meaningful in that it proves storytelling can be applied not only to low birthrate policies but also to various other policies, and it provides a new clue for administrative policy research."

Having served a long career in public service at the Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Government and approaching retirement next year, Jaeil Shin developed an interest in storytelling by writing essays as a member of the Korea Forest Literature Association and then pursued a doctoral program at Dong-Eui University.