Birth and Evolution of Korean Reality Show Formats
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Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Film, Media & Theatre Dissertations School of Film, Media & Theatre Spring 5-6-2019 Dynamics of a Periphery TV Industry: Birth and Evolution of Korean Reality Show Formats Soo keung Jung sookeung.jung@icloud.com Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/fmt_dissertations Recommended Citation Jung, Soo keung, "Dynamics of a Periphery TV Industry: Birth and Evolution of Korean Reality Show Formats." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2019. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/fmt_dissertations/7 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Film, Media & Theatre at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Film, Media & Theatre Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact scholarworks@gsu.edu. DYNAMICS OF A PERIPHERY TV INDUSTRY: BIRTH AND EVOLUTION OF KOREAN REALITY SHOW FORMATS by SOOKEUNG JUNG Under the Direction of Ethan Tussey and Sharon Shahaf, PhD ABSTRACT Television format, a tradable program package, has allowed Korean television the new opportunity to be recognized globally. The booming transnational production of Korean reality formats have transformed the production culture, aesthetics and structure of the local television. This study, using a historical and practical approach to the evolution of the Korean reality formats, examines the dynamic relations between producer, industry and text in the context of cultural globalization and suggests a new perspective of television studies challenging the center- periphery model. INDEX WORDS: TV format, Korean reality show, Genealogy, Cultural globalization, Global television flow, Television production DYNAMICS OF A PERIPHERY TV INDUSTRY: BIRTH AND EVOLUTION OF KOREAN REALITY SHOW FORMATS By SOOKEUNG JUNG A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of the Arts Georgia State University 2019 Copyright by Sookeung Jung 2019 DYNAMICS OF A PERIPHERY TV INDUSTRY: BIRTH AND EVOLUTION OF KOREAN REALITY SHOW FORMATS by SOOKEUNG JUNG Co-Committee Chair: Ethan Tussey Sharon Shahaf Committee: Greg Smith Holley Wilkin Electronic Version Approved: Office of Academic Assistance College of the Arts Georgia State University May 2019 iv DEDICATION Dedicated to my mother in heaven v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation could not have been written without the guidance and support of my adviser, Dr. Sharon Shahaf, who gave me confidence that my project is worthwhile and never ceased to be encouraging. As a prominent television format scholar, her expertise and insight has enormously inspired me to go further on my academic journey. I am also deeply grateful for my committee chair, Dr. Ethan Tussey, who has strongly supported and advised my study academically and administratively. His advices have allowed me to handle complicated problems in a simple way and grasp an essence. I cannot express my gratitude enough to my dissertation committee, Dr. Greg Smith, whose feedbacks were as keen as his work is lucid, and Dr. Holley Wilkin, whose abundant experience and knowledge about communication research methods has guided my approach to the Korean television production ecology. Additionally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the input of Dr. Michael Curtin in my study, who has extended my view of the Korean television industry to global networks of television production with his expertise on cultural geography and East Asian media industry. Throughout my days at GSU, I have benefited from the advice and encouragement of many professors, friends and staffs. I want to express my thanks to Dr. Angelo Restivo, who led me to approach to the historiographical methodology from more academic perspective. Dr. Harper Cossar deserves my special thanks for his wonderful advices to let me know how to teach and manage undergraduate students. Hyungmin Kim, Arzu Karaduman, Matt Smith, and Tanya Zuk have my thanks and affection for the friendship, encouragement, and academic discussion. I am also grateful to Ms. Karin Smoot, Ms. Regina D. Anderson, and Mr. Edward Griggs at the office of the School of Film, Media & Theatre for their support to the end of my PhD’s degree program. vi The interviewee producers for this dissertation deserve my sincere gratitude for their honest and vivid talk about their professional lives and production culture despite their busy schedules. The conversations with the producers not only enriched this research but also allowed me to review my past working life in a more objective and historical perspective. I am forever indebted to Dr. Jinsun Lee, my professional as well as academic mentor, who has inspired me with her startling admonition and resounding cheer, thereby leading me to this point. The same goes to my fellow TV writers, such as Hee-gap Goh, Ji-eun Ahn, Eun-jeong Jang, Min-sook Lee, Seung-hee Yoon, and Ah-mi Lee, for sharing the latest information about the Korean television industry and stimulating me to think of the research questions. My Korean friends in Atlanta gave me energy and relaxation. Choo-ja Kang deserves my appreciation because she relieved me of the burden of housework and helped to concentrate on my study. Sook-jin Song, Myeong-ja Seo, Kyeong-ok Ahn and sisters in Grace KPC comforted my homesickness with delicious Korean food. Dr. Heekyoung Chun and the group trying to find out the truth about the Sewol Ferry disaster constantly stimulated me intellectually with a wide range of social interests and lively discussions. I also want to express a deeper gratitude to my neighbor, Rosa Chen and her family. She has taken care of my children in behalf of my study. Her intelligent daughter Jennifer Chen proofread this dissertation. Her kindhearted grandson Jacob became another brother to my children. I cannot thank enough my family for their support, patience, and love. My profound gratitude goes to my late mother Dosija Ahn. She must be looking down from heaven with delight on this achievement. I heartily thank my father Kwondae Jung, who has shown an unwavering confidence in me and has always respected my decisions in life. I am also grateful to my mother-in-law Kyeongsoon Lee, who has prayed all the time for my family. Also, special vii thank goes to my sisters, Soojin Jung and Hiyoung Jung for their dedication to my children and myself. My thoughtful son, Beom Kim has fully understood his busy student mom and relieved me with his bright smile, humor and wit. My lovely daughter, Dan Kim has always made me happy with warm heart and words. Finally, I should give gigantic thanks to my husband, Kihun Kim, for all his patient assistance and companionship throughout the years. As a PhD in Economics, he has helped me keep on track with his experienced advice and academic knowledge. He deserves my earnest thanks. Besides, I would like to thank all my friends who have encouraged and helped me to reach this goal. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ V LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... XIII LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................... XIV 1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 How Reality Formats Have Changed Korean Television? ........................... 1 1.1.1 Why television format? Why reality format in particular? .......................... 3 1.1.2 Characteristics and strategies of Korean reality formats ............................. 5 1.2 Significance of the Study ................................................................................ 10 1.3 Outline of the Study ........................................................................................ 13 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................... 18 2.1 Production in Cultural and Media Industry Studies ................................... 19 2.1.1 Political economist approaches to cultural production .............................. 20 2.1.2 Sociological approaches to cultural industries ........................................... 22 2.1.3 Cultural economy studies in the circuit of culture ..................................... 25 2.1.4 Integrative research in media production studies ....................................... 26 2.2 Flow, a Dual Entry Point of Television Studies: Continuity and Mobility 32 2.2.1 TV flow as continuity: Inherent nature of television.................................. 33 2.2.2 TV flow as mobility: Globalization of television ......................................... 45 2.3 Reality Television Format as a Global Television Package ........................ 58 ix 2.3.1 Format in global television studies .............................................................. 59 2.3.2 Reality television in global market .............................................................. 64 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES ....................................................................... 69 3.1 Archival Research ........................................................................................... 70 3.1.1 Analysis of existing interview collections and autobiographical essays .... 71 3.1.2