Media, religion, and culture in contemporary Korea: Production and reception of religious symbolism in a daily TV serial

This dissertation explores the convergence of media and religion within contemporary Korean culture by analyzing meanings created in the process of production and reception of the TV serial, Wang-kkot seon-nyeo-nim , as a case study. The discussions provoked by the serial on a number of issues provide material which may be applied to mapping the relationship between media and religion in contemporary Korea.;The study employed the multiperspectival method, which aims at a more complete understanding of a particular media product by overcoming the existing artificial division within empirical media research of production research, textual analysis, and reception studies. The textual analysis involved 175 episodes of the serial; the production analysis drew upon in-depth interviews with eleven production team members; and the reception analysis made use of interviews with twenty-seven viewers and messages posted on the internet discussion board of the serial's official web site.;The convergence of media and religion is part of the late modern social, cultural, and religious change in contemporary Korea, where modernization and modernity are seriously challenged and criticized. Wang-kkot, as a code-breaking work of art, clearly manifests the change. The three levels of analysis identify several conditions to be considered in mapping the relationship between media and religion in contemporary Korea. First, there is increased social/public hostility toward organized religion in general and Christianity in particular. Second, there is an increased interest in alternative spiritualities. Third, there is a growth of popular interest in the religious, spiritual, and supernatural. Fourth, this growth of interest is also enhanced and supported by globalization of religious symbolism and sensibilities through the dissemination of products of popular culture. Fifth, in these contexts, the capitalist interest, or "the logic of the ratings" in the structure of the commercial media industry, plays a role in driving the convergence between media and religion.