Press freedom and democratization: South Korea's experience and some lessons

Abstract

This study deals with the persistence of the 'controlled' state of news-making in South Korea after years of what is known as the process of democratization. The central question it raises is how we should account for this seemingly contradictory state. In other words, why isn't the press freer? What are the conditions that still restrain the activities of reporters and editors? Is this a consequence of an incomplete reform or an inevitable aspect of the inherently hierarchical nature of the Korean media culture? The study, drawing on in-depth interviews with midcareer reporters and editors, describes the nature of changes in journalistic routines during the past nine years of political reform. It identifies newly routinized control mechanisms of press activities, and discusses why South Korea's press is still under substantial restraint. © 1997 SAGE PUBLICATIONS.