A Study on the Formation and Function of Art Magazine Journalism in Korea
Compared to the influences of Korean art journalism, the researches on them are rarely conducted. This study aims to examine the influence of art journalism in art magazines in Korea. Although it is essential to consider media, journalism, public opinion altogether, I focused only on the media due to the absence of previous studies. I have analyzed the current conditions of korean art journalism, types of feature articles, sponsors, their relations with articles, and the comparison with foreign art journalism in terms of production conditions. There have been about one hundred art magazines published in previous sixty years and currently there are twenty three. Monthly periodicals are the majority; the publishers are sorted out as publishing houses, galleries, newspaper company in order; specialized art magazines developed from the eighties. Through an examination of feature articles in these art magazines, I found that they repeated similar art issues and covered the same artists, sponsors and articles. Moreover, when the magazines went through the conflicts between managers and editors, the ascendency of managers obstructed the development of art journalism regarding journal quality. These days, art journalism have been comparatively regressed compared to other art systems such as art museums, curatorship, international art festivals, distributions and art promotion policies. The main causes for failure were the lack of professional management, the limited effort to diversify sponsors, and the repetition of the same informants and events without making an effort to be specialized. Magazines are published media which contribute to the creation of culture, distribution, and preservation. Therefore art magazines can be said the most influential media in forming art culture and distributing it. It is quite necessary to reform the problems of repeating of information and the lack of speciality in conjunction with the commitment of management and editorialship.