Comparing Media Industry In China And South Korea

Select One from the following topics:

1. Select any specific aspect(s) of media industries in twoof the following five countries – China,

Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan – and compare it/them. Discuss the similarities and/or differences between the two countries. Specific aspect(s) can be: media system, media history, media content, media control/regulation, media policy etc.

2. Select any specific aspect(s) of media industries in oneof the following five countries – China,

Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan – and compare it/them with another country of your choice. Discuss the similarities and/or differences between the two countries. Specific aspect(s) can be: media system, media history, media content, media control/regulation, media policy etc.

Media System

The media has significant influence in the modern society and lifestyle of the people irrespective of culture or national boundary, is observed to get affected unusually. The impact of the media in establishing the rights of the human is huge. The media has a significant stake in creating democracy in the nation. The media can be considered as a vital medium for the exchange of the information or can be used efficiently for passing important messages to the people of the nation (Mudie, 2018). The political leaders of modern generation are frequently observed to unethically influence the content of media that may be is available in the form of the text content of the newspaper or the form of the TV programs. As the media houses are the most competent authority of providing information regarding the daily affairs, the general public of any nation significantly depends on them (Keane, 2013). The media houses have the liability to make sure that the trust of the people of the country on them is kept intact and to do so, the media houses are in need to operate without any sort biased feeling towards any individual or any organisation. The paper is focused on comparing the Chinese and South Korean media industry with a specific focus on the media system, media control or regulation, media policy, media content and media history.

Media System-In China, the communication system is observed to be the communication media system, and this is significantly dominated by the communist party of that nation (Stockmann, 2013). The country sees these systems to be government owned rather than private ownership. Due to the considerable size of the media system, China is one of the largest media sectors. The nation has approximately 3000 cable channels along with more than 1000 radio stations and 700 conventional TV stations. Along with that, the government is observed to have a significant rise in the newspaper industry as it currently includes more than 2200 newspapers and 7000 magazines and journals (Cgtn.com, 2018). The list also contains a considerable number of bloggers and the internet-based communication channels (Curran et al., 2013).

As mentioned earlier, the government owns all the media houses and has complete control over the media system of the nation. However, the rapid increment in the usage of the internet in the government as an important tool for communication is instrumental in generating alternative views (Heng, 2018). The development of the country’s economic structure and the significant increment in the globalisation process across the nation is a major reason behind the recent emergence of the independent media organisations which can overcome the strict journalistic guidelines imposed by the communist party of the country. The nation is observed to have a very poor rating in the Press Freedom Index and is one of the lowest in the entire world (Rsf.org, 2018). The reason is pretty clear, and that is the significant restriction imposed on the freedom of the media in the nation.

Media History

On the other hand, the South Korean media system was less influenced by the government. The media culture and the way of taking those inputs from the media was somewhat influenced by the Japanese and Chinese society. The South Korean media culture was observed to be significantly connected to the economic growth that the nation was recently experiencing and along with the steady development of the information society "Dynamic Korea" had greater importance in the structure of the media system (Kim, 2013). The South Korean media system is observed to have a greater number of mediums including the traditional newspapers, TV channels and radio stations.

The modern mediums are observed to gain significant limelight as the mobile phone users of the nation can receive news or movies, and along with that, the considerable use of the internet in the nation is instrumental in improving the socio-cultural infrastructure of the nation. However, even with the rise in the internet-based media consumption, the traditional mediums of the media system is not surpassed regarding consumption. Though the decrement in the number of employees for the conventional newspaper selling organisations is a major reason in the decrement of newspaper consumption in the nation (Peress, 2014). The free-to-charge newspapers are observed to be one of the most trusted and preferred medium for the people of the land, specifically the office goers. Unlike the Chinese media system, the fear factor and the pressure of the government are less in the media system of South Korea.

Media History: The Chinese media history significantly rich and can improve in a significant manner. In the year 1978, the nation had only a single TV receiver per 100 Chinese people and along with that not more than 10 million Chinese people could experience the TV sets and the activities. The statistics significantly improved with the introduction of the new century as the report of the World Bank published in the year 2003 can show that the numbers of the TV access per 100 people have increased to 35. In the past, the Chinese media was significantly influenced by the government of the nation, but even that is observed to get reduced considerably as most of the state media outlets are not provided with the heavy subsidies that they were used to. The financial structure of these media outlets was generally dependent on the state funding which in the modern generation is observed to get significantly changed as the outlets are responsible for their funding and they concentrate on the commercial advertisement for the purpose. Hence the common tradition of behaving like a mere mouthpiece of the governments started to change. The television industry in the nation in the year 1965 was having only 12 television and 93 radio stations which has increased to 3000 cable channels along with more than 1000 radio stations and 700 conventional TV stations.

Media Content

The China Central Television (CCTV) had the power to control the nation’s television broadcasting. CCTV was the nation’s only national network which had the 22 program channels and approximately 10000 people working. CCTV had an annual income of 1.12 billion yuan per year and is monitored by the Propaganda Department and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (Cgtn.com, 2018). The Propaganda Department is the responsible authority for the media content, and the other organisation has the power to monitor the operations of CCTV.

The media history of South Korea is divided into three periods which are the Colonial period (1910-1945), Post World War 2 (1945-1990) and the current status. In the Colonial period, the governor general of Korea had the assumption of controlling the press and the public institutions with the formation of the Japan Korea Annexation Treaty in the year 1910 .The  government was unable to do so and had to permit the various Korean newspapers to operate with covered political pressure on them over the topics which are politically sensitive. KINCAID was the only TV station in South Korea at the primitive stages, and it launched in the year 1956 (Kim, 2013). In the history of the South Korean Television industry, terrestrial television broadcasting is the most popular one, and it is observed to have five channels with four television stations in the form of KBS 1TV, KBS 2TV, MBC, EBS and SBS.

Media Content: The Chinese Television industry is observed to have a significant number of news channels regarding business and cultural activities. The process of globalisation has a substantial impact on the nation. The preferences of the consumers in modern days are significantly aligned with the cultural and business activities. The popularity ratings of the TV shows in the country can show that the people of the government prefer the drama and the poetry shows in a significant manner (Wang, 2013). Though the media content for the mentioned nation includes a program of other genres, yet the programs like The Rap of China, The Chinese Poetry Competition, Readers, Qi Pa Shuo, The Birth of Actors and the Dream House Renovation are observed to have the higher ratings of popularity. The South Korean media content includes more of fictional animated programs, drama, action and adventure oriented programs. Along with that, the people of the nation is more focused on the comedy, crime thrillers or romance oriented programs. The applications like the Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, Mr Sunshine, Stars vs the Forces of Evil, Suits, Goblin and Hwarang are preferred by the people of South Korea unusually.

Media control of the television industry in China: In the People's Republic of China, the media consists of newspapers, television, magazines, radio and new internet has also been added as a strong media.  The internet became a significant medium of communication and is supervised by the government of China.  Since the year 1949 when China was founded, the state government ran almost all the media outlets. These independent media outlets started to hold a remarkable position in the market. There are so many governing agencies or regulatory bodies in China such as the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), General Administration of Press and Publication, China Central Television and many others (Xu & Albert, 2018).  These agencies and regulatory bodies put a strict prohibition on certain subjects that are considered taboo by the government. It also includes the legitimacy of the Communist Party of China, policies of the government in Xinjiang, pornography and few sensitive religious topics including Falun Gong and Dalai Lama.  Before the year 1978, the television media in China was not that effective.

Only one television receiver was there for per 100 people, and millions of Chinese people could not even access the television. According to the latest survey, it has been found that there are more than 700 television stations, 1,000 radio channels and 3,000 cable television channels available. This fast development is remarkable.  The television media broadcasting is controlled by the China Central Television (CCTV) having 22 own channels(Rsf.org,2018). It is China’s only national channel.  There are more than 10,000 people who work here giving the annual revenue amounting 1.12 billion dollars to the company. It oversees all the operations and media content of Television, Radio and Television (Kuhn, 2018).  The State selects all the officials of the network. However, the CCTV has less percentage of the audience share because of the popularity of the foreign channels. Hence, in the year 2006, decided to ban the foreign created animation cartoon programs run on the state television to help the national Chinese animation channels which were dominated by the international channels (Xu & Albert, 2018).

Media control of the television industry in South Korea: It has been found that the press and television are the two main media bodies in South Korea which hardly have any controlling entity. The single Korean concept is ‘the right to editorial independence'. The media outlets of the country are powerful and influential ways of ideological and political affiliations.  The idea of independence refers to the free decision making of which news will be printed or broadcasted and which will not (Heng,2018). The media channels or newspapers are susceptible to the sponsors no matter whatever they ask to include in the media content due to their business interests. Such gloomy business practices are worse when it comes to the local channels or dailies.

To gain more revenues, the news reporters are bartering and collecting false or negative news or substandard advertisements to increase the publicity of their newspaper or TV channel. The broadcast media that primarily consists of television experiences a lucrative market.  At the election time every year, the television coverage is the most trafficked area by the politicians for public exposure. It is apparent that most of the channels are highly financed to showcase the projects of President Kim (Tong-Hyung, 2018). The public broadcasting channels such as the KBS and the MBC are known for the sensationalism. Certain trade unions of the country protest the government regulation and interruption.

  Therefore, it can be seen that in China the media control/ regulation is strictly conducted either by the government bodies or by certain authorised agencies which edit the media content to maintain peace and coherence in the country. In South Korea, on the other hand, the government administration is comparatively weak. The press and the broadcasting media like television are controlled by the business profits more. The political bodies use the press for public exposure, and therefore there is a lack of good programs or news in the channels or the dailies.

Comparison between Media Policy of China and South Korea: According to the constitution of China, the freedom of speech is well maintained for every citizen, but the government does not allow the media channels to broadcast any news that maligns the country reputation and endanger the future(Rsf.org,2018). The Chinese government is seen to be going for the back to test the line. Today it is on the verge of opening the door to the freedom of press and television broadcasting, but at the same time, it is highly conscious that the liberty does not lead to the downfall of the regime (Mudie, 2018). All the media channels are instructed to follow the Chinese rules and policies of ethics because they know well that the media outlets of the country are the bases of political stability.

On the other hand, the media Policy of South Korea allows it to broadcast anything and everything on the media outlets. The selection of news and programs depends on the sponsorship of the content (Rsf.org,2018). Political bodies much influence the media policies of the country. However, the Media control of the television industry in South Korea also show educational programs and advertises established company. The president of the country is pretty much involved with the media policies of South Korea.

On a concluding note, it can be said that the television industry is one of the largest sectors of entertainment industries presently on the planet. This industry gives employment to a large number of people. The television industry is much larger than the film industry in terms of reach because there are many sections of the population which may not regularly visit the film halls for watching the movie but presently the larger part of the community is conversant with the various television programs and the concept of entertainment in the television. The Asian countries are presently some of the largest populated regions of the world. The density of population in these regions is high, and with the rapid development of the countries in these regions, the requirement of various forms of entertainment is also increasing in the Asian region. The Bollywood in India is presently a tough competition to Hollywood in terms of business. The Chinese and South Korean film industries are famous for the typical movies they make mainly based on adventure and action. Presently the film industry is facing tough competition from the television industry which is growing as an independent and strong entity in the field of entertainment.

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