Law through a Hybrid Genre in Solomon’s Choice: A Case Study of a Reflection on Law Education through Television in Korea

Abstract

The three public Korean television stations (KBS, MBC and SBS) categorize their programmes into ‘news’, ‘drama’,¹ ‘entertainment’,² ‘education/general culture’ or ‘information/current issues’³ and ‘sports’. However, a considerable number of programmes raise questions as to what genre they might belong to, as many of them mix two or three genres: ‘drama’ with ‘entertainment’, ‘entertainment’ with ‘education/information’, and even ‘drama’ with ‘entertainment’ and ‘education’. Sometimes, the official objective of the programme — be it informing, entertaining or educating — is intermingled with the form of the programme to the extent that it can generate some confusion as to its intention. Programmes of a ‘hybrid’ genre are abundant in Korean television and constitute one of its specificities. They are products of a creative exploitation of the properties and characteristics of television: its extremely codified nature, the conventions of which can be changed and reinvented infinitely. This strategy of mixing genres is exploited to the full in programmes categorized as ‘education’. Some programmes explicitly and specifically intend to educate audiences in one professional domain in particular while utilizing the form of entertainment. They exploit conventions traditionally used in entertainment programmes, such as the use of celebrities as emcees and participants, quizzes and games, a humorous atmosphere, colourful settings and music.