A STUDY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE KOREAN TELEVISION ADVERTISING VISUALS

Lee, Kang Woo(Multi-Media Major Graduate School of Mass Communication Chung-Ang University)

The purpose of this study is to review the development of the TV advertising visuals from 1965 when the television advertising activity started up to the present; how the television advertising visuals have changed as a whole; and what factors have influenced the television advertising.

This study has analyzed the relationship between the characteristics of the television advertisements appeared during these periods and their social environments. Categorizing the epochal classification of advertising into the roles and function of visuals in the advertising and the social and technological effect factors emerging from the epochal flow.

In order to implement the foregoing research analysis, this study has conducted its analytical work focused on the television advertising productions expressing the respective epochal traits and related literatures. And the data of analysis are the commercial films stored by the respective productions, periodicals published by the advertising related organizations, materials published by the CHEIL Communications, and the Korea Broadcasting Advertising Corp., publications. Besides, academic books on advertising and visuals, dissertations & theses, research reports are also referred in analyzing television advertising in the specific periods, this research has analyzed how such characteristics relate to the respective social backgrounds.

Reviewing Korea television advertising over the past 30 some years, this research findings are that the TV adverting in Korea has diversely influenced by the political, economic and social factors and that they influenced independently at times and or compoundedly.

Reviewing epochally, as the 1960s is the decade when Korean society transformed from the traditional agrarian society to the industrial society, TV Commercials for confectionery products and daily necessities were major item during this period. Furthermore, during the 1970s, being influenced by the authoritarian nature of the regime, various regulations affected the creativity of TV commercials. Following the introduction of the TV visual image related state-of-art technology, the 1980s is a decade when the expressive technique of TV advertising commercials has futher developed to the higher stage. And the 1990s is a decade when the westernized new generation consumer life pattern and sense have greatly influenced the contents of adverting.

All the television commercials produced in the specific period, of course, are not identical in style or atmosphere. However, despite the diversified modes and contents, seen in entirety, they can be discerned as reflecting a unique trend representing the specific period. Such trend, in most cases, has a close relationship with the social atmosphere of the periods. And with the passing of some length of time, being influenced by another different social phenomenon, they are amenable to the new tendency. However, what is important is that the new tendency does not occur without any bearings with the past.

The new tendency can be discerned to be already in formation for a considerably long time anchored on the past. Conclusively speaking, a careful observation of the past and current trends of the TV Commercials enables the perspectives of future trends.

The significance of this research lies in the realignment of the changing process of Korean television TV Commercialism reaction to the social environment though the systematic arrangement of the disappearing visual resources of TV commercials. Ultimately, however, it is not a simple rearrangement of the past but it is the prediction of the future through the past records that can be expected to be feasible. Otherwise, through the prediction of changing directions of the future visuals advertising, this study purports to enhance capability and competitiveness to cope with the changes nothing to speak of the preparedness toward the change, it is anticipated.

The future of TV commercials in Korea should be directed toward surmounting the environment of global competitions and the increasingly complicated media situations. Furthermore, the continued exploration of creative on the part of TV commercial creators to cope with the changing epochal flow and technological adjustability toward the rapidly developing media environment are expected of them.