Culture in Korean Drama towards Influencing Malaysian Audiences

Abstract

The globalization of Korea culture, particularly in Asia was clearly seen through their television drama series and have become the favourite media genre especially among Malaysian viewers. The purpose of this study is to understand how the Korean culture in Korean drama able to influence Malaysian audiences. This research uses qualitative method to address the research problems. The aims are to investigate human phenomena, interpretations and meaning that are unknown and needed to be explored. This further enforces the reason behind why the researcher has decided to use qualitative method as the research methodology as it enables the researcher to understand why and how Korean dramas have been successful in having a big impact on Malaysian‟s audiences. The researcher uses ethnographic design concept in order to apprehend the impact of Korean dramas on Malaysian audiences by learning the similarities between both cultures. The researcher employed the in-depth interview method. In order to clarify the data obtained is valid and true, researcher has also conducted pragmatic validity process. The finding shows that Korean dramas satisfy Asian audiences‟ emotional needs by being easy to assimilate to a similar life style, cultural proximity and expressiveness.