South Korean and American Television Formats: Exploring American Format Adaptations of South Korean Dramas Open Access

Abstract

This thesis explores the ways in which American format adaptations of South Korean dramas can tell the same story in different ways. Focusing on how different aspects of both the American and South Korean television industries and the structure of their drama forms impact the understanding of the stories being told. Along with these industrial differences, the ways in which each industry deals with issues of temporality and aesthetics is considered as well. The differences in production, exhibition, and form all interact to create a new iteration of one story, allowing each American format adaptation to be read and understood separately from the original South Korean drama. The thesis considers aspects such as authorship, regarding who writes and directs for television productions in each country, the exhibition process, use of previews versus recaps, the formation of a season as well as the series as a whole, different storytelling devices that each industry uses and how they are used within their respective dramas and the visual and sound aesthetics of each country’s television productions. By exploring these aspects of drama form, the American and South Korean drama forms are differentiated and a unique perspective of how platforms such as Netflix blend the style of South Korean dramas with the structure of American television exhibition is provided. 

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Production Process and Exhibition.............................................. 10

Chapter 2: The Creative........................ 22

Chapter 3: Streaming Worldwide......... 53

Conclusion............................................. 62

About this Honors Thesis

Rights statement

• Permission granted by the author to include this thesis or dissertation in this repository. All rights reserved by the author. Please contact the author for information regarding the reproduction and use of this thesis or dissertation.

School	Emory College
Department	Film and Media Studies
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Multimedia Communications Cinema Asian Studies
Keyword	The Good Doctor God's Gift - 14 Days Somewhere Between Prime-Time Television Narrative K-Drama Exhibition Netflix Aesthetics Production Good Doctor Streaming Broadcast Television Korean drama
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Beretta E. Smith-Shomade, Emory University
Committee Members	Michele Schreiber, Emory University Jenny Wang Medina, Emory University

Last modified

Primary PDF

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions
	South Korean and American Television Formats: Exploring American Format Adaptations of South Korean Dramas ()	2022-04-12 01:18:02 -0400	Press to Select an action Download

Supplemental Files

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions