Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Since the first Korean edition of Elle entered the Korean market in 1992, international women’s magazines have continuously increased. The rapid expansion of international women’s magazines in Korea is closely related to the growth of the transnational advertisers which have high interest in affluent middle-class consumers in Korea. With this in mind, this study examines the expansion process of international women’s magazines in Korea and their influence on Korean local women’s magazines, by paying attention to the role of transnational advertising in the process.

A content analysis was used for this research. To examine how international women’s magazines are closely related to transnational advertising, this study compared advertisements of international women’s magazines with those of local Korean local women’s magazines. Based on the circulation figure and popularity, two Korean editions of international women’s magazines, Elle and Vogue, and two local Korean women’s magazines, Yeosung Joongang and Women Sense, were selected. Thus, total four magazines, issued on March or April 2004, were analyzed.

The results imply that international women’s magazines are more commercialized than local women’s magazines and they play an important role to disseminate the standardized and Westernized transnational advertising.