Big Bird teaches English: Sesame Street’s globalisation in Japan and Korea

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines the global expansion strategies that were initiated by the Children’s Television Workshop (CTW), with a specific focus on the adaptations of Sesame Street in Japan and South Korea in the 1970s and 1980s. When CTW began its globalisation in the early 1970s, the international adaptation process of Sesame Street had two key methodologies: Co-production and Open Sesame, serving as the framework for disseminating US educational television internationally. However, Sesame Street in both Japan and South Korea had been mainly perceived as a tool to enhance English proficiency for formal schooling. Another significance of these adaptations was the centralised approach to educational broadcasting. State-run broadcasters or national education research institutes in these countries played pivotal roles in broadcasting Sesame Street for formal schooling. This unique adaptation positioned Sesame Street as an educational programme for English-learning programmes, transcending its original preschool focus. The globalisation of Sesame Street in Japan and South Korea enabled the creation of new local educational programmes for preschool children by borrowing the show’s fundamental educational purposes and programme structures. In sum, the cases of Sesame Street in Japan and South Korea represent how educational broadcasting in local countries interacted with both domestic and foreign influences to establish indigenous educational programmes. These adaptation processes reflect the dynamic interactions between local countries and CTW’s global strategies.