I don't watch TV a lot, but there are two things I like on Korean TV. The first one is commercials, because they're so different from what you would see in France, and on top of that you can learn Korean.I'll post about that soon.
The second thing I often watch is the evening news (mainly on JTBC, sometimes on KBS). Watching these newscasts is very formative and informative. True, I understand less than 10%, but I still find it interesting, A) because I can practice my Korean and (try to) improve my listening comprehension skills, and B) because I can see what's happening in this country, and how it's reported in the media.
About the form, there are a few things that surprised me when I started watching the 8 o'clock news on JTBC. First everything looks very formal, and I would even say the anchors are a little stilted. Imagine Her's reaction when she saw "France Info" journalists sitting on a desk. They often don't even wear a tie or a jacket.
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| Sohn Suk-hee, the main anchor at JTBC |
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| The weekend guy trying to appeal to viewership |
On JTBC only the "Fact Check" guy shows up every night with his shirtsleeves rolled up, probably to show that he's beavering
away at fact-checking.
I even remember that one time when Sohn Suk-hee interviewed someone who was somewhat slumped in their chair and at one point he asked them to sit up straight...which they did immediately of course.
Also, I find that Korean TV newscasts are a little slow and consequently a little long. On weekdays, the 8 o'clock news on JTBC lasts about 1 hour and 20 minutes (the 9 o'clock news on KBS in "only" 40 minutes long, which is closer to what I'm used to in France). In a way, that's pretty good. The issues tackled are thoroughly delved into, with a lot of explanations, interviews, live reporting, and infographics. In France, I always find it sad that important issues are merely touched upon (the 8 o'clock news lasts about 40 minutes and the last ten minutes or so are about "minor" topics like sports and entertainment). On the other hand, I sometimes wish Korean anchors would speed up a bit, because we're getting a lot of information about things that are not so utterly important. In an earlier post I mentioned the fact that street muggings or car accidents can be reported on the news, but sometimes reporters are even sent to the scene to go through the event with a fine-toothed comb. The other day, they spent several minutes dealing with why a dog had managed to run away from a shelter and was eventually hit and killed by a car. This is very sad news, but I'm not sure we need to know all the ins and outs of that story.
Also, I find that Korean TV newscasts are a little slow and consequently a little long. On weekdays, the 8 o'clock news on JTBC lasts about 1 hour and 20 minutes (the 9 o'clock news on KBS in "only" 40 minutes long, which is closer to what I'm used to in France). In a way, that's pretty good. The issues tackled are thoroughly delved into, with a lot of explanations, interviews, live reporting, and infographics. In France, I always find it sad that important issues are merely touched upon (the 8 o'clock news lasts about 40 minutes and the last ten minutes or so are about "minor" topics like sports and entertainment). On the other hand, I sometimes wish Korean anchors would speed up a bit, because we're getting a lot of information about things that are not so utterly important. In an earlier post I mentioned the fact that street muggings or car accidents can be reported on the news, but sometimes reporters are even sent to the scene to go through the event with a fine-toothed comb. The other day, they spent several minutes dealing with why a dog had managed to run away from a shelter and was eventually hit and killed by a car. This is very sad news, but I'm not sure we need to know all the ins and outs of that story.
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| Footage of a car accident from a dashcam shown on the evening news |
As for the content of the newscasts, there's a lot of politics, which seems to be very complicated here, and I must confess I don't understand much, although Her is trying to fill me in. Then national issues and international issues linked to Korea (about North Korea and the US, for instance) are covered.
Apart from that, international news is usually skimmed over in a few minutes, unless something very big has happened, before national issues are discussed and analyzed in further detail. Just as a sidenote, sometimes Korean journalists do make mistakes when reporting about foreign countries. Last month, for instance, they showed images of the Climate March in Paris, mixing it up with the so-called "Gilets Jaunes" protests that were taking place on the same day (true, some "Gilets Jaunes" did join the Climate March, but these are still two very different things).
What you'll see at 0'34 is the Climate March, not a "Gilets Jaunes" protest
Several things often make me smile when I watch the news in Korea. One is the fact that, in order to protect privacy I suppose, the faces of some people filmed or interviewed in the streets are blurred, and so are the names of certain people or places, not to mention potentially disturbing images. But at the end of the day, you sometimes end up looking at a screen 75% of which are blurred images.
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| Blurred things |
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| Blurred faces |
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| Blurred names |
Another way to not show people's faces is to show their legs or chests. So finally at times you don't really need to look at the screen because there's nothing to see, you might as well listen to the news on the radio.
Paradoxically, the privacy of convicts or suspects in criminal cases seems to be less respected. Almost every day you can see suspects or inmates escorted to a police station or some court of justice, walking along a blue wall. And when they get out, often barefaced, they can even field journalists' questions, which in France would be unthinkable (a suspect in a criminal case is never shown or interviewed on TV).
In short I enjoy watching this even though I don't understand much. I often think France could learn a lot from Korea in terms of TV news, only we should avoid making it as long as they do. And since this post too is getting a little long, it's time for me to bow respectfully and say goodbye.
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