• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.17-29
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• 2020

This research looked into the two programs There are No Bad Dogs in the World(EBS1) and The Dogs are Respectable(KBS2) that can be considered as one of the factors that changed the culture of dog rearing in the country. Focus was also directed toward the cultural intermediary work of trainer Hyung-Wook Kang and veterinarian Chae-Hyun Seol, and the linguistic texts and visual images that describe the programs were analyzed. The findings showed that the two experts reproduce dog-related beliefs and values using devices such as "serious" storytelling, dog bodies, and guardian re-education. They perform cultural intermediary work in that they create the value of the companion dog culture in these programs and provide corresponding products and services to consumers through direct face-to-face interactions. This study contributes academically in the following respects. First, the issue of companion dogs in Korea was approached from a cultural point of view rather than bounding analysis to the industrial and economic level called the "petconomy" (pet + economy). Second, the concept of cultural intermediaries and related theories were examined, along with how the two experts engender the value of dog training in the broadcasting program. The results are expected to help illustrate the diversity of Korean dog culture.