Global Media News

Our Third Show: Japanese Media from Sports to J-Horror

 

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 Our third show tours the media in Japan.

 We begin with a little history of the Japanese mass media since World War II.   Also covered:  The influence of Japan on American media and Japanese media's influence on our own  media world;   Sports media in Japan;  and our scary finale: J-Horror.

A Little History of the Media in South Korea

Some types of South Korean media come in the form of Radio, Cinema, Newspapers, Magazines, and the Internet.

After World War Two, the rise of Newspapers and periodicals was huge. Many independent newspapers and magazine agencies emerged and began to criticize the government any chance they could. The main criticism came from the government trying to censor the type of news and media that was being viewed by the public.

In 1961 under Park Chung Hee's government , the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction closed 49 newspapers in Seoul alone. At the time the government used the Press Ethics Commission Law of 1964 to eliminate criticism of the government throughout the media.

In 1980 the government gained more control of the media in South Korea. Many of the independent newspapers and magazine agencies were now controlled by state-run agencies.Because of this new surveillance a significant amount of publishers and journalists were fired and banned from writing in South Korea completely. By the Middle of the 1980's censorship of print and broadcast media became one of the most widely and publically criticised issues under the Chung government.

Towards the middle of the 1990's change finally began throughout South Korean media. One of these changes was when the Christian Broadcasting System, which is a radio network, began broadcasting news as well as religious programs. At this time South Korea also lifted a ban on the work of North Korean artists and Musicians.

After decades of heavy control and influence throughout media in South Korea, there is a relatively free flow of media throughout the country. In 1980 there were only 28 national (in Korea) newspapers, today there are 122. Seventy percent of South Korean resident households now have broadband internet access causing the online media market to grow imensely. Today South Korea is the current leading country in the digital revolution and high-speed wireless internet services.

Some extra interesting information about newspapers in Korea:

The Korean Times, which is one of the most popular newspapers throughout the country, published its first issue on November 1st, 1950 during the height of the Korean War. To this day it is still one of the longest running independent dailies.

Sources:  The History of the Korea Times (The Korean Times)

 An indepth History of South Korea (The New York Times)

South Korean History (BBC News)

Censorship in Korea

The top-selling Korean hip hop group Epik High talks about social issues, the South Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism has tried to censor their songs. The Korea Times reported that the groups newest 27-track two-disc album has courted controversy because some lyrics deal with sexual crimes, war, education and religion. Despite the censorship the group is not willing to change their style. They use their music as a social change platform.

http://www.freemuse.org/sw17737.asp

On November 1, 2001, the Ministry of Information and Communications of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) formally enacted an internet content rating system classifying gay and lesbian websites as "harmful media" and having these sites blocked. The claim this is to protect the youth. Exzone.com, the first and largest gay website in Korea, received a notice stating that if it does not immediately mark itself as a 'harmful site' and install filtering software to prevent youth access, he would be fined US$10,000 or be sentanced to two years' imprisonment.

http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/globalactionalerts/638.html

Television Networks in Korea

    According to wikipedia, the three largest national television networks in South Korea are KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) , MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation), and SBS (Seol Broadcasting System).

    KBS is South Korea's main public broadcaster and is best known for it's nightly newscasts and historical dramas. Some dramas include "Chuno" and "The Vineyard Man". This network receives funding from the Korean Government but is independently managed. KBS World is the international television and radio service of KBS. It was launched on July 1, 2003. KBS World television is administered over several international communication and broadcasting satellites.

    MBC, one of three major national South Korean television and radio networks, was established in 1959 in Busan, South Korea. It currently operates 19 regional stations with over 4,000 employees. The program guide includes drama, entertainment, news and sports.

    SBS is the only private commercial broadcaster with a wide regional network to operate in the country. It launched its first U.S. channel in August 2004. Some drama programs given on this network include "Temptation of a Wife", "Golden Bride", and "Swallow the Sun".

    All three networks have produced historical dramas in recent years. For more information on the media and television networks of South Korea, visit PressReference.com

    According to The New York Times, due to a high magnitude of censorship, television in North Korea is not the same as South Korea. Radio and television sets are sold pre-tuned to government stations and radios must be checked and registered by police before usage. There are only four television stations: Korean Central TV, Mansudae Television, Korean Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television. According to recent UN data, only 55 of every 1,000 North Koreans have a television in their home. As a result of the economic conditions of the country, radio is used the most. 

History of Television in Korea

    Korea began television broadcasting on May 12, 1956, with the opening of HLKZ-TV, a commercially operated television station. During this time there were only 300 television sets in Korea but this number climbed to an estimated 6.27 million by 1980. On December 31, 1961 the first full-scale television station, KEWS-TV, was established and began it's operation under the Ministry of Culture and Public Information.

    The 1980s were seen as the golden period for Korea's television industry. Programming hours increased as well as the number of television stations. In 1981, there was a technological breakthrough: the introduction of a color television. With the Broadcasting Law of 1987, the Korean Broadcasting Committee was established to oversee all broadcasting in the country. The most important part of this law was that it guaranteed freedom of broadcasting.

    Another technological breakthrough took place in the beginning of the 1990s with the introduction of cable television. Korea also launched its first broadcasting/communication satellite, Mugungwha, in 1995.

Source: Museum TV

Round Trip / USA to Japan

Despite the United States having a wide array of cultures on its soil from around the world, it’s a country a world away that apparently has had the biggest influence on the American people. From their tv shows, to their films, to their electronics, Japan has been the influential frontrunner for the past 30 years. In the 80’s it cause a big boom and by the time it hit the 90’s, it was EVERYwhere. In today’s world, it’s pretty hard to meet anyone younger then 30 who hasn’t experienced any Japanese media. Some of the biggest shows in the past 2 decades have been from Japan (with English dubbing) or adapted from Japan for American shores.

If you grew up in the 80’s like myself, there were shows like Voltron: Defender of the Universe which was a dubbed version of two Japanese animated shows called GoLion and Armored Fleet Dairugger XV. There was also Battle of The Planets (known as Science Ninja Team Gatchaman) about a 5-person team battling evil forces from depleting the planets natural resources. With those successful shows, the 90’s opened the floodgates and introduced a multitude of animated media to the next generation of kids. Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh, but the most popular import (even today) is:

With over 35 games and multiple tv shows, and several movies to tout, Pokemon had branded its name into the minds of an entire generation. The adaptations don’t stop there. Live action shows also got the dubbed treatment. Another 90’s show that was extremely popular was the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. 

It too was a culmination of dubbed Sentai (or team-up in Japan) shows from Japan. If you watch an old episode, it is apparent that the action scenes are old Sentai footage from its respective overseas counter part. Our films over the years have adapted our protagonists to be stereotypical martial arts experts as exhibited in movies like the “Bourne” and “Transporter” films. No franchise though has come close to marrying the views and philosophies of the East & West as “The Matrix” movies.

But despite all these, our one constant influence from the Land of the Rising Sun is video games. Since 1985 with the original Nintendo Entertainment system and with the latest (but certainly not last) system in 2006, The PlayStation 3, video games are the consistent gift that keeps on giving. Many of the top selling franchises (upwards up to 50 million in install base) are from Japanese developers. According to a list from Wikipedia, out of the top 20 titles on that list, 7 of them are Japanese developed. That might not seem like many but add the revenue these titles have amassed over the years and the amount is $717.95 million dollars.

But hold on, with all this focus on one side of the spectrum, let’s take a gander on what the Japanese might be influenced by us. As referenced in an earlier blog Hippu Hoppu, grafitti, (an expressional art form originating in the 1970’s in the US) has found a home overseas.

Another art form to travel to the East is rapping. Many of the Japanese youth are into the stories that our rappers tell on their CD’s.

So essentially it’s a two way street, both cultures influencing and learning from each other.

Gender Role and Race Portrayals in American and Korean Advertisement

 

A study was done in 1979 and revisited for the purpose of writing an article in a journal called Sex Roles: Gender Role Portrayals in American and Korean advertisements. The study done by Erving Goffman showed how “East Asian cultures grow increasingly Westernized; the depictions of both genders are likely to be influenced by Western values”.

   In comparing Korean and American women, American women are socially different than Korean women. Even though American women have not fully obtained equal salaries and job opportunities as men, they have made progress when entering the workforce. There is a growing number of women entering the workforce and holding professional and managerial roles (pg 890). Korean women still live by their cultural norms despite a changing society, from traditional to modern economic societies. They are conflicted between traditional homemaker roles and the social opportunistic role (pg890). The conflict is rooted from Western images of women holding values of “competition, freedom, professionalism and individualism” (pg 891).

   To begin the study, Goffman and numerous revisiting sociologists took a series of sample of magazines from Korea and America in the years 1979, 1991, and 2000 (pg892). The two largest circulations targeted toward a Korean female audience were Women’s Donga (middle-age women) and Ceci (young women) whereas the two American magazines were Good Housekeeping (middle-age) and Glamour (younger women). The issues of January, April, July and November 2000 were used for Women’s Donga and Good Housekeeping while Ceci used the July, August, November, and December 2000 issues. Glamour also used the same issues as Ceci but could not obtain the December 2000 issue but instead used January 2001. 160 advertisements were used from US and Korean magazines and 30% of Korean ads used White female models whereas 1.9% of US ads used Asian female models. 0.6% Korean ads and 8.8% US ads used Black models in their advertisements showing a huge disparity in using different races in advertisements. The coding categories used in US advertisements such as ritualization of subordination (bowing, lowering oneself; person of opposite sex elevated) and feminine touch (person’s hands of fingers used to caress objects or people) were more popular whereas Korean advertisements used licensed withdrawal (Person covers mouth or face with hands, turns gaze from other(s)) and body display (person wearing tight, revealing, short clothing).

   What was eventually found in the study were Korean ads offered fewer stereotypic images of women. Sexist images appear more frequently in the sample of American magazine ads. The magazines used, both Korean and American, were geared to a predominantly White audience and the use of White models in Korea confirms the trend among Asian countries to adopt Western images in their advertising as well as the adoption of Western emphasis on White/ European beauty standards. (pg 897)

Source: Hovland, Roxanne; McMahan, Carolynn; Lee, Guiohk; Hwang, Jang-Sun; Kim, Juran.Sex Roles: Gender Role Portrayals in American and Korean Advertisements. Vol 53. Numbers 11/12. December 5^th 2005.

 

History of Korean Television

The term Korean Drama refers to televised dramas. The Western miniseries is a similar term that is also produced in the Korean language. The Korean wave also known as Hallyu has become poplular throughout Asia and has become a phenomenon with in the culture. Korean dramas have had an influence on other popular areas across the world including Latin America and Middles east.

The popularity has spread throughout the world. The first Korean drama to wide popularity in Japan was Winter Sonata which was broadcasted on the NHK satellite channel NHK BS2 in 2003. Due to high demand from the viewers the program was aired twice in the same year. Its claimed that Korean drama has improved relations between the two countries as more Japanese peopl have become interested in Korean culture. Korean culture has had an effect on China and the United States.

 In 2006, South Korean programs on Chinese governemnt TV networks were more than all other foreign programs combined. Th United States also shared the same popularity in regions with populations of ethnic Koreans. Many fans would like to visit South Korea due to the beauty and enjoyment of the Korean tv dramas. Blockbuster currently sells and rents some korean drama DVDs in limited locations across the United States and online. In November 2008, Netflix began offering several Korean dramas as part of their video selection. Television has changed throughout the years, but in the end it has brought cultures across the world together. We learn about each others day to day lifestyle without leaving the house.

Post Soviet Union Still Needs Western Radio After Cold War

As Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty celebrate the formal opening of their new headquarters this week in Prague, it is a good time to underline a point that is sometimes not understood: Western broadcasting to the countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe is still needed, even withthe end of the Cold War.

The fact is that the news media in these areas are still weak, often controlled or heavily influenced by local governments, and may be unable to survive as independent voices.Until the transition of these countries to full democracy and economic liberty is complete, American services like Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty will be essential, and this process could take a generation or more.

At the same time, the radio serviceshave tried to adapt to the new political reality. The decision to move Radio Free Europe's headquarters from Munich to Prague was taken for both economic and symbolic reasons; Prague appeared cheaper, and the move represented the return of these services to their region of interest. The services have also opened offices in many cities in the former USSR and Eastern Europe and hired broadcasters from the countries to which they were broadcasting. In addition, two language services,Polish and Czech,have been made private, and one other, Hungarian, has been dropped.

According to http://www.vii.org currently there is a dispute over private tv channel Nova in Czech republic. CET 21 who controls the legislation for broadcasting says that they are not worried about the merger between foriegn media company SBS and Central European Media Enterprises.

Media of Kazakhstan

   

    The Silk Road Intelligencer is a website that covers general news such as business, energy, finance, politics, society, mineral resources, regional news, and economics. It was launched in July of 2007 as a daily web publication that offers analysis and news on the Central Asian and Caspian Sea regions, with particular emphasis on Kazakhstan. The website written by its own staff is a growing network of partner publications. This information was found on the Silk Road Intelligencer website. The internet feels a lot of pressure from the government because the censorship of online publication is routine.  

    The state-owned Kazakh Radio broadcasts in Kazakhstan. It is played for two hours a day which includes news, talk shows, and analytical programming. According to http://www.rferl.org/section/Kazakhstan/158.html "Kazakh Service was established in 1953 as part of the Radio Liberty family, and Radio Azattyq has redoubled those efforts since independence to provide dependable information through intensive on-the-ground reporting and unique perspective."

    The limited airtime and restrictions on the Kazakh media market have imposed a heavy burden that Radio Azattyq has sought to counter with dynamic programming and stepped-up cooperation with regional and local media. During the middle of 2008, Radio Azattyq's local website was inexplicably blocked for seven weeks until access was restored following public appeals to the Kazakh government by U.S. officials, numerous NGOs, and the OSCE's envoy on media freedom. The Almaty police department recognized the Radio Azattyq correspondent as providing the best coverage of city police operations and crime in 2004. According to this website.

 

    Newspapers in Kazakhstan are mostly supported by the government. There is a wide variety that is available. The authorities operates the only regular national Kazakh language newspaper as well as one of the two national Russian-language newspapers. According to government statistics, there were 418 privately owned magazines and 990 privately owned newspapers. Those supportive of the opposition face lawsuits and harassment. This information was obtained from wikipedia.org.