Country Name Choice and Policy Documents Readability

This study explores how the choice between “Korea” and “South Korea” affects the readability of policy documents. An analysis of 89 documents found that those using “South Korea” had slightly higher average readability scores (M = 43.46) compared to those using “Korea” (M = 38.37). However, this difference was not statistically significant (t = 0.47, p = 0.64). This null finding suggests that the choice of country name may not significantly impact the readability of KIEP policy reports. This result is also reassuring, alleviating initial concerns that authors who ignore international naming conventions might produce less readable texts. Furthermore, this pilot study lays the groundwork for future regression analyses examining factors influencing readability, such as author gender, education, and the use of passive voice.