Globalization and Localization in the Production Process of International Women's Magazines in Korea.

Unlike other global media products which are imported from overseas, international women's magazines in Korea are published via licensing agreements or joint ventures with local companies. These ownership patterns allow local editions of international women's magazines to negotiate the tension and contradiction between the global media and local publishers. On the one hand, international women's magazines tend to maintain their magazine concept globally and pursue standardization strategy in order to maintain a consistent brand image. On the other hand, international women's magazines need to localize content to win local readers. Thus, international women's magazines in Korea can be an interesting site for exploring the dynamic interaction between the global and the local. This study investigated how global and local forces were involved and interrelated in the production process of international women's magazines in Korea. To explore the dynamic interaction between the global and local forces, both globalization and localization efforts of international women's magazines which occur during the production process were examined through in-depth interviews with personnel in the magazine industry. The findings showed that the localization process of international women's magazines is neither homogenization nor heterogenization. Instead, both of these aspects were found in the production of international women's magazines in Korea. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]