Analyzing the Framing of China‐Related Coverage in South Korean Media From 2014 to 2024: An Approach Based on <scp>TF</scp> ‐ <scp>IDF</scp> and K‐Means Clustering

ABSTRACT This study analyzes portal‐mediated framing of China‐related coverage in South Korea by examining 37,164 news articles collected from two major portal platforms (Naver and Daum) from 2014 to 2024. Using TF–IDF vectorization and K‐means clustering, the analysis identifies three recurring thematic frames: (1) economic sanctions and export controls (38.5%), (2) US–China technology competition (35.4%), and (3) the Korea–US alliance and military cooperation (26.1%). Time‐series patterns in these clusters align with major geopolitical junctures (e.g., THAAD, the US–China trade war, and the COVID‐19 period). Correlation analyses with survey indicators show strong temporal associations between framing frequencies and public attitudes (e.g., pandemic‐related keywords and distrust toward China, r = 0.91), consistent with a mutually reinforcing dynamic rather than a definitive one‐way causal effect. The study theorizes these coexisting patterns as “compound framing” and interprets them as a discursive manifestation of South Korea's structural duality as an East Asian middle power.