The discursive construction of the role of public service broadcasting amid the rise of the Korean Wave

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines how the sociocultural role of South Korean public broadcasting is affected by neoliberal cultural policies that situate the Korean Wave at the forefront. Drawing on Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis (CDA), this study examines 20 New Year’s addresses from two public broadcasters and two associated government institutions, identifying the discursive construction of public broadcasters’ roles during the tenures of five governments. In particular, the study illuminates how the neoliberal discursive construction of the media has increasingly reduced public broadcasters to mere economic entities, envisioning the media solely as a source of profit in a globalized media landscape. Providing empirical support, this research suggests that the social imaginary of the Korean Wave and its accompanying media policies have dwarfed the social roles of public broadcasters by linking culture to the nation’s supremacy and economic prosperity, thereby reinforcing neoliberal logic and beliefs against public values.