Market change and diversity in the Korean movie market

Abstract

In this study, the relationships among the different, measurable aspects of media diversity (source, content and exposure) were examined. The aim was to look at how changes in the market environment affect the diversity of movies that are exhibited. The Korean movie market since the late 1980s provides a fruitful example of how an increased exhibition outlet affects the source, content and exposure diversity. An analysis of movies that were exhibited in movie theaters between 1990 and 2006 reveals that the increase in movie screens does not affect each dimension of diversity equally; and the relationship among the three distinct dimensions of diversity does not necessarily have a consistent pattern. The Korean market is the case where the expansion in the exhibition market benefits consumer diversity but not necessarily the source diversity.