Conclusion

This chapter has attempted to connect civil society with television and its regulation in Korea. During its short history, civil society in Korea has undoubtedly helped advance democracy and has contributed much to raising public awareness for various issues such as consumer economics, the environment, human rights and women. The growing influence it has demonstrated in recent political and social development in Korea further shows that the future role of civil society in Korea is promising. This is particularly so because both the state and media, which had turned their backs on civil society for several decades, began to see civil society as an emerging powerful institution. The role of civil society in television and its regulation needs to be understood in a complex relational context in which civil society, media and the state have all struggled to take a leading role in a three-way relationship. This appears to be one of the critical issues that needs to be raised in the future role of civil society in Korea. In the past, civil society in Korea was virtually ignored, and, if not, was not seriously considered. This was particularly so when the state constantly suppressed the development of civil society until the early 1990s. When the media was under the strict control of authoritarian governments (1961-93), there was virtually no place for civil society to gain support from the general public. During this period, the Korean media, under strict censorship, largely contributed to helping the state achieve its aims by silencing the issues voiced by social and civil organisations. In this sense, it is proper to say that the development of civil society in Korea has been, to a large extent, paralleled with the development of the media reforms.