South Korean Media System: Toward a Democratization Model

Abstract

From a perspective of the media systems approach, we attempt to provide a media system

model that accounts for the characteristics of the relationship between political and media

systems in the democratization process of Korean society. Using the model, we explore

the possibility by which media system has set the limit on the directions of political

democratization. The notion of political parallelism is employed to characterize the

historical changes of the role of the news media in function of public spheres in relation to

political system. The Korean way of political parallelism accounts for the process by which

mainstream newspapers and broadcasters have influenced political parties and civil society.

The implications are discussed in terms of the role of media system in democratization.