Can you hear documentary? - A critical approach on the production convention of documentary sound in Korea

This study discusses the aesthetic possibilities of sound in documentary production by tackling the conventionalized practices prevailed among Korean broadcasters. For this purpose, we did textual analysis with in-depth interviews of recognized producers in documentary field. Through theoretical discussions, this paper argues that documentary style has a close relationship with surrounding production conditions such as institutional culture, production routine, and producers’s value. In particular, we ask for redefined audience in the current media environment for those creators of documentary to narrow down their target audience. In this way, Korean producers can experiment the production of documentary with various aesthetic elements including sound. For media scholars, this article argues for a scholarly attention on the importance of sound to grasp a better understanding of the production-dimension of film and television.