Presidential rhetoric of South Korea and the United States: the case of Lee and Obama

Abstract

This study compares how the presidents of South Korea and the USA addressed their people. The speeches of Lee Myung-bak and Barack Obama were analyzed. As compared to Obama, Lee delivered considerably fewer speeches, tended to avoid controversial topics, and supported his topics with less informative descriptions. While Lee preferred authoritative expressions emphasizing his position and achievements, Obama frequently used metaphor and humor. Lee and several other Korean presidents appear to share some rhetorical traits that are rarely found in the speeches of US presidents. This study argues that there is a different presidential rhetoric outside the USA, and presidential speeches in other countries can reflect their respective rhetorical tendencies. We also found that both Lee and Obama frequently relied on moral values to persuade their citizens, making a moral appeal, a common persuasive rhetorical move, in their presidential speeches. Overall, the analysis method that we used included the modernized features of ethos, pathos, and logos and provided vivid and plausible information on how the two presidents use their means of persuasion.