(A Group Article)
What comes to mind when you hear the word South Korea? It’s probably all those all-time famous Koreanovelas that has hit the airwaves of the Philippines way back in the 2003 I guess. Koreanovelas are now a major market in the Philippines today.; with its popularity growing each and every year.
Well apparently, the media system in the Philippines is not different with South Korea. Only, there is this distinct difference.
I can’t tell you everything and I can’t speak for the whole of the Korean media system but might as well try. So here it is.
Overview of the Media System in South Korea
South Korea is a country situated along the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, with China and Japan as its closest neighboring countries. And by all means, South Korea is media rich country.
South Korean media is relatively composing of various types of communication, such as television, radio, newspapers, magazines, cinema and the internet-based websites. In many ways, it has been proven that South Korean media industry has been a good ground for profit. The literacy rate in the country is transparently high, with about 98-99% at the very least. These literate and educated people of South Korea, with the abundance of its economy, support and consume both the traditional media as well as the rapidly advancing new media.
As of 2002, this country of over forty-seven million people had as many as 116 daily newspapers, with the top three of its national dailies boasting circulation of more than two million copies each. Television is ubiquitous, too, with two national networks, over forty cable channels, and a digital satellite broadcasting service offering seventy-four channels. Additionally, some 6,500 periodicals—2,000 weeklies, 3,300 monthlies and 1,200 quarterlies—bombard the media market, each targeting its own share in the general as well as segmented audiences. Credits
Nevertheless, the country is still supporting and using the technological media of today. The degree of availability of such techies was equal to those industrialized countries of the world. According to research and studies, there is a high rise in the number of internet users in the country. The country ranked third in the world’s most number of internet users. Almost 79% of the families own a computer and 94% are using the internet. Many businesses in Korea are utilizing the internet for services such as news, social media, shopping, banking, games, and educational content.
What is good about the country is that the internet is free and everyone can have access to it.
The media system has gotten a long way from its early beginnings to what is now considered as one of the most productive and rich media system in the world.
During the colonial period, the Governor-General of Korea assumed direct control of the press along with other public institutions. Following the March 1st Movement in 1919, the colonial government loosened their overt control over cultural activities and permitted several Korean newspapers to function while maintaining some behind-the-scenes direction over politically sensitive topics. Following the period of 1945 to 1948, which saw a burgeoning of newspapers and periodicals of every description as well as occasional censorship of the media, almost all subsequent South Korean governments have at times attempted to control the media.
After decades of state control and heavy censorship, the South Korean press (in print, on television, and online) is experiencing a period of relative freedom. The repressive Basic Press Law was repealed in 1987, and since 1990 the television market has expanded significantly. Whereas in 1980 there were only 28 national newspapers, today there are 122. In 2002, satellite broadcasting brought multi-channel commercial television to homes across South Korea. According to most outside observers, political discourse is unrestricted in South Korea; however, persistent concerns are worth noting.
Credits
Press laws, press freedom, and all other legal provisions relevant to the media stem from the Korean Constitution, which is somewhat unique in its stipulation of basic principles on press freedom. Article 21 of the Constitution clearly specifies that all citizens shall have the rights to free press and free speech and that censorship or prior approval of such rights shall not be practiced. However, the same article contains a couple of additional clauses that puts a limit to the scope of press freedom. The third clause states that standards for press, broadcasting, and press agencies’ facilities shall be stipulated by law. The fourth clause specifies that the press and publications shall not encroach upon individuals’ honor or rights nor shall they violate the prevailing public morality or societal ethical norms. This clause further states that citizens may request remedy to the damages inflicted upon their refutation and rights by the press or publications.
In other words, the press freedom in Korea is not an absolute freedom; it is a freedom to be practiced “responsibly,” or the press should pay for its “irresponsible” practices under a constitutional provision. This constitutional stipulation is noted for its specificity in legislating the scope of press freedom and in codifying the concept of social responsibility of the press. In line with this constitutional mandate, various procedural laws have been enacted, the most prominent of such laws are the Registration of Periodicals Act and the Integrated Broadcasting Act. The Fourth Clause provision above has been implemented with the establishment of a “press arbitration commission” which is the first stop for filing complaints against the press before proceeding to the court.
There’s no censorship of the press and there’s no government agency doing media control per se. Yet, in Korea, the will of the president, often termed “imperial,” permeates the culture of the newsroom in one way or another. In President Kim’s case, his reconciliation policy toward North Korea is a case in point. For this, no media in Korea call North Korea communist. It is just North Korea. Its leader, Kim Jong-il, is not called a dictator; instead he is called “chairman.” Refugees from North Korea, increasing in number in the 2000s, are being treated somewhat lightly in the Korean press; for one, President Kim’s government doesn’t want to make a big deal about it for fear of offending the North Korean leadership.
Credits.
As of today, there has been a growth of many Koreanovelas. And to this, the media system in Korea is truly booming and has affected many countries across the Asian region.
One can get a lot of the Korean system and culture, the way of life, the people, and the whole place by just watching such show. For me, it is an integration of both media and tourism. The media is boosting, the tourism is also boosting. What a good idea, right?
Overview of the Media System in the Philippines
Mass media in the Philippines has proved it growth overtime. It has also been known to have had a strong influence in the unfolding of the country’s history.
Currently, there are several types of mass communications media in the country: print, broadcasting (which includes radio and television), cinema, music through CDs and cassettes, and the internet. These types of mass communications are peopled by dedicated professionals and entertainers who also comprise the backbone of Philippine media and entertainment. Also, media and entertainment people have put up several organizations meant to safeguard or promote the interests of Philippine media and the audience it serves.
Today, most of the media is owned by corporations which earn their revenues through advertising and sales. However, Philippine media has also been known for its activism and nationalism, especially at times when the country needed it.
Media has a tripartite role in Philippine society: political, economic, and social. It is the political aspect that media satisfies when it disseminates information, creates and reflects public opinion, and serves as as a watchdog on government. This role is mostly carried out by the different news and public information media forms, both in print and broadcasting, through the varied journalists, reporters and broadcasters of Philippine media.
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In many diverse ways, the Philippine media has proved to be, for me, a complex yet growing industry. Well maybe because everything that is still growing is still showing its own complexity. And I think every form of media, in any country, is complex.
Why’d I say complex? There are factors for that.
I’ve been living in the Philippines for almost all my life. I’ve seen it changed over time. In some ways, it has improved. But still the fact remains that the Philippines is still lagging behind the advances of the world.
The press media, though it is free from any constraint in the government, is still experiencing extra-judiciary killings and the government has proved inadequate in solving such cases.
Advertising has been one of the major livelihoods of private corporations who own much of the many media stations in the country. And for such, sometimes content is being put to jeopardy. Just so revenue is expected, some will do anything, even to produce non-sensical shows so they could profit from it.
I am not saying everyone in the media system in the Philippines do it. Because I know a few who still hold on to what they believe as freedom of expression and precisely giving the public what they truly deserve. But from what I have seen and observe, there are those who would do anything for profit or money. And for that, I am disappointed.
The diverse ways the Philippine media system is different from the South Korean media is relatively point out in this article. Well in ways I wish this could’ve helped us better understand the complexities of two different and varied form of media system.
(Draft)
(Source: iamzee)
