Learning from South Korean Spring
 |
| Psy, one of Korean media icon |
This paper aims to describe the relationship between media and the
political system in the Korean peninsula. This paper is based on the assumption
that the media system has a close connection with several social aspects such
as politics, economics, and ideology. In this respect, North Korea and South
Korea are very interesting to analyzed to enrich the media studies.
There are several reasons why media studies in Korea are important
to discuss. First, North and South Korea share a common culture, language,
customs, and history, but later separated because of political reasons and
ideology. The difference between the two countries is only at the level of
political structure, while their citizens keep in touch and have a close
brotherhood.
Second, differences in the political system influence the media
system, especially the issues of ownership. On the one hand, North Korea keeps a
closed-door policy, so that the media remains controlled by the state, while on
the other hand, South Korea is embracing an open democratic system, opening the
door for foreign investors. The result is that the media in South Korea is
managed by a private media conglomerate, not the government.
Third, differences in the political system make South Korea more
progressive than North Korea. It is influenced by the investment climate, and
also a checks and balances system. This fact could be the reason why South
Korean pop culture has spread to the rest of the world and become a global
commodity.
This paper is based on the critical discourse analysis that was presented
by Norman Fairclough (2003). To explain the media system in the two countries,
there are three elements to be observed. First is the textual element. We will
observe the extent to which the freedom of the media is controlled by the
government. Second is context, which involves discursive practice concerning
production and consumption aspects of media texts. We also discuss about the
history of media as well as private ownership. Third is socio-cultural practice.
We will discuss about how to influence the political system as well as the
state ideology in the media system.
Media Text
There is not much information about the media landscape in North
Korea. North Korea media is the most strictly controlled in the world. North
Korea's constitution guarantees freedom of the press and expression, but it is
limited only to matters that flatter the state and its leader. The North Korean
government strictly restricts information coming in and out of its territory.
One example that may illustrate this control is the fact that the death of its
leader Kim Jong Il is known international public only after two days
post-death.
Article 53 of the North Korean Constitution protects freedom of speech
and freedom of the press, but only if expressions are supportive of the
government and the ruling party, the Workers' Party of Korea. As stated in the
Constitution, the role of the press is to:"...serve the aims of
strengthening the dictatorship of the proletariat, bolstering the political
unity and ideological conformity of the people and rallying them behind the
Party and the Great Leader in the cause of revolution.”
Not surprisingly, the media reports on North Korea are one-sided
and exaggerated, playing "little or no role in gathering and disseminating
vital information true to facts" and only providing propaganda for the
regime. According to Yoon (2001) almost all news TV channels and radio news are
propaganda. Its contents are mostly news about the leader Kim Jong-un as well
as news about the badness of other countries, especially South Korea and the
United States (U. S). Even some cartoon series for children also display negative
propaganda about U. S..
The situation in South Korea is very different. Media in South
Korea is dominated by entertainment aspects, including film, K-Pop music,
dance, drama series, and also sitcoms. Media production is not only designed to
meet the needs of Korean people in entertainment aspects, but also to be
exported to some countries that makes Korea to become a trendsetter. Since
early 2000, the Korean entertainment industry became a trendsetter in the
world, especially in Southeast Asia. In fact, Korea is also expanding its
entertainment industry to the U.S..
Context
-
Historical Background
One of the interesting things to be discussed is how the two
countries have the same historical context. Both of them were colonized by Japan,
and then later split apart due to political factors and ideology option.
Though often attacked by its neighbors,
Korea was independent until the late 19th Century. At that time, China sought to
block growing Japanese influence on the Korean Peninsula and Russia was
applying pressure for commercial gains there. The competition produced the
Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95 and the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. Japan
emerged victorious from both wars and in 1910 annexed Korea as part of the
growing Japanese empire. Japanese colonial administration was characterized by
tight control from Tokyo and ruthless efforts to supplant Korean language and
culture. Organized Korean resistance during the colonial era was generally
unsuccessful, and Japan remained firmly in control of the Peninsula until the
end of World War II in 1945.
The surrender of Japan in August 1945 led to the immediate
division of Korea into two occupation zones, with the U.S. administering the
southern half of the peninsula and the Soviet Union taking over the area to the
north of the 38th parallel. This division was meant to be temporary until the
U.S., U.K., Soviet Union, and China could arrange a trusteeship administration.
In December 1945, a conference convened in Moscow to discuss the
future of Korea. A 5-year trusteeship was discussed, and a joint Soviet-American
commission was established. The commission met intermittently in Seoul but
deadlocked over the issue of establishing a national government. With no common
political ideology between the north and the south, and reunification talk
reached an impasse, and as a result the south created the Republic of Korea in
August. One month later, the Soviets backed Kim Il-Sung and created the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Kim introduced a guiding philosophy
of "juche" or self-reliance in North Korean life. In 1950, the North
launched a massive surprise attack on the South. This invasion effectively
stopped all progress toward reunification.
History of the North Korean media started since the establishment
of the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on December 5, 1946. This institution
is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the putative views
of the Workers' Party of Korea and the North Korean government toward foreign
consumption. KCNA is centrally located in the capital city of Pyongyang.
History of the media in South Korea began in 1948. In the reign of
Lee Seung Man, newspapers began to be published. At that time, the government
tightly controlled all media. Later in 1964, the government set up the radio
and news agencies to promote government programs.
- Production Process and The Ownership of Media
In North Korea, the media is managed and
controlled by the state. KCNA is the only institution that supplies all the
information required by the media. KCNA publishes the daily paper, Korean
Central News (Chosn Chungyang T'ongsin), Photographic News (Sajin
T'ongsin), and the Korean Central Yearbook (Chosn Chungyang Ynbo).
KCNA issues daily press releases in
English, Russian, French, and Spanish; newscasts in these languages are beamed
overseas. The Foreign Languages Press Group issues the monthly magazine Korea
Today and the weekly newspaper the P'yongyang Times is published in English,
Spanish, and French.
The media is strictly controlled by the government.
As of mid-1993, there were eleven television stations, approximately two dozen
AM stations, ten FM stations, eight domestic shortwave stations, and a powerful
international shortwave station. The latter broadcast is in English, French,
Spanish, German, and several Asian languages. Korean Central Broadcasting
Station and P'yongyang Broadcasting Station (Radio P'yongyang) are the central
radio stations; there are also several local stations and stations for overseas
broadcasts.
A number of newspapers are published.
Nodong simmun (Workers' Daily), the mouthpiece of the party Central Committee,
claimed a circulation of approximately 1.5 million as of 1988. K lloja (The
Worker), the theoretical mouthpiece of the party Central Committee, claimed a
circulation of about 300,000 readers. Minju Chosn (Democratic Korea) is the
government newspaper, and Nodong chngnyn (Working Youth) is the newspaper of
the SWYL. There also are specialized newspapers for teachers, the army, and
railway workers.
The South Korea media situation is
different. Since 1980, when President Chun took over the authoritarian regime,
the government started to intervene in media ownership. In 1980, the
broadcasting companies were all merged into one and owned by the government. It
also set up a new public institution to control advertising, Korean
Broadcasting Advertisement Corporation (KOBACO). It was mandatory for KOBACO to
manage and sell the entire broadcasting advertisement time to advertisers.
This shift of ownership was prompted by
political motivations, yet, it provided economic influence. The media industry
owned by the government was almost free of market influences as well as foreign
impact. Foreign ownership was prohibited by law. Since the military regime
collapsed and civilian government was established in the 1990s, the media
industry has been accordingly transformed.
A private broadcasting company was
established in 1990 and a number of private local companies were also licensed.
Along with political liberalization, new media have rapidly developed. The
government has played a leading role in employing cable television, internet,
DBS and digital television. These new media need enormous financial resources
that only the private sector can afford. After a five-year-long debate in the
National Assembly, a new Broadcasting Act was passed in 2000. Privatization and
opening up the market are the main premises of the new law.
During earlier bureaucratic
authoritarian regimes, foreign capital was not allowed to invest in the media
industry. Now, however, the new government is welcoming foreign capital into
any industry including the media.
Table 1
The Ownership of
Media in South Korea
|
Network
|
KBS
MBC
SBS
|
Government 100 %
MBC Fund 70%,
Chongsoo Fund 30%
|
|
Local Stations
|
City in each province
|
Private companies 30 %
|
|
Special Stations
|
Education,
Transportation Religion |
Government
100%
City Religious fund |
Source: Data from Sunny Yoon, an Assistant Professor at Hanyang
University, Seoul, Korea
Now, foreign capital is allowed to
invest in the Korean media up to 33% of total stocks under the new Broadcasting
Act. For the last two years, transnational media firms including News
Corporation and Time Warner have begun to invest directly in Korean media
companies. One of the biggest transnational media moguls, Rupert Murdock,
introduced foreign capital into the Korean media industry in February 1998.
News Corp, Murdoch’s company, bought 15% of Dacom Satellite Multimedia System
(DSMS) stocks. Since Murdock has broken through the Korean media industry,
transnational media firms vigorously knock the door. Presently, Time Warner is
one of the biggest investors in Korean cable channels.
Table 2
Foreign
Investment in Korean Media Industry
|
Korean
Firms
|
Foreign
Firms
|
Amount
(million
US$)
|
Pattern
|
|
C&M
cable
|
Olympus
Capital (US)
|
100
|
FDI
|
|
Mirae
Cable
|
Scudder
Kemper Investment (US)
|
|
Stocks
|
|
On*Media
(5 cable channels)
|
Time
Warner (US)
Capital International (US) |
12
50 |
Strategic
Alliance
FDI |
|
CJ
entertainment (4 cable channels, film production)
|
MTV
CCAL, AFIC Dreamworks |
contents
|
Strategic
Alliance
FDI Joint venture |
|
Next
Media (cable)
|
Japanese
fund
|
100(10billion
Yen)
|
FDI
|
|
DSMS
(DBS)
|
NewsCorp.
|
20
(15% of stocks)
|
FDI
|
|
Thrunet
(ISP)
|
Cisco
(US)
Digital One (Aus) HeyAnita.com (US) Microsoft (US) |
120
contents |
capital
Contents providing Joint venture |
|
Dream
Line (ISP)
|
Microsoft
(US)
|
10
|
Capital
|
|
Media
Plus (production)
|
Morita
Investment (Japan)
Sony LCI (US) |
30
20 |
Capital
|
Source: Data from Sunny Yoon, an Assistant Professor at Hanyang
University, Seoul, Korea
Conclusion: Socio Cultural
Practice
The differences in media system are influenced
by socio-political differences in each country's ideology. The North Korean
system chose a communist as ideology, so the media policy is also based on this
system that placed state as a central role. Through the communist system,
foreign capital was rejected. On the other hand, South Korea chose the policy
of capitalism, particularly since the 1990s.
In conclusion, we can draw the
differences between media in North Korea and South Korea on the analogy of
Hallin and Mancini (2004):
Table 3
The Differences between North Korea and South Korea
Media System
|
|
North Korea
|
South Korea
|
|
State ownership
Development of mass press
Political parallelism
Professionalization
State interventions
|
High
Low
High
Low
High
|
Low
High
Getting lower
High
Low
|
Bibliography
Fairclough, N. (2003). Analysing discourse: Textual
analysis for social research. London: Routledge.
Hallin, D. C., & Mancini, P. (2004). Comparing
media systems: Three models of Media and Politics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press.
Yoon, S. (2001). Democratization
and the mass media: comparative perspectives from Europe and Asia. A paper
that presented in Bellagio, Italy, 9-13
April 2001.