Culture, politics and television: A cross-cultural comparative study of Korean and United States televised presidential debates.

Abstract

This dissertation treats televised presidential debates as a mirror of culture. However, the study sees the televised presidential debate as a traditionally Western or American political event. The televised presidential debate was invented and developed under American political traditions and values. Korea, which has different political traditions and communication patterns, adopted debate as a forum for campaign communication, but the nature of debate may conflict with general Korean communication and rhetorical patterns.

From a communication perspective, it is imperative to include cultural variables in one's analysis of the content of televised debates, as communication is so closely tied to cultural norms. The participants and viewers of these communicative events are embedded in a specific culture, and thus their interpretations of the interaction will be influenced by the culture's style of thinking and feeling, value system, and attitudes.

This comparative analysis reviews differences in communication aid rhetorical patterns between the U.S. and Korea. Following this review of literature, the study addresses three primary goals: First, this study develops an alternative way of examining televised political debates from a communication perspective based on cultural assumptions---how culture influences what presidential candidates say and how they deliver their messages in televised debates. Second, applying a systematic content analysis, this study analyzes the 1997 Korean and the 1992 U.S. televised presidential debates, evaluating and comparing the debate dialogue from these differing cultures. Finally, this study analyzes the similarities between Korean and U.S. televised debates based on the notion of an "Americanization" of Korean televised debates.