Korean municipal orchestras : current problems and future prospects

This thesis is a study of Korean municipal orchestras which focuses on both the internal and external environment in order to examine and better understand arguments that they face 'challenges' that are not to be solved simply through 'efficiency' or 'better organisation', but are part of wider socio-cultural change that previous studies have failed to take adequately into consideration. This study, therefore, examines diverse aspects of the difficulties faced by contemporary Korean municipal orchestras while addressing five research questions concerning Korean cultural policy, the socio-economic context in which orchestras operate, job satisfaction, interpersonal conflict, and diminishing local government funding. In pursuit of this investigation, a triangulation methodology is adopted, which includes the scrutiny of documentation along with qualitative in-depth interviews (with orchestral players, administrative staff, and civil servants) and a quantitative questionnaire survey (with 128 players and 10 administrative staff). The research findings are given in detail in relevant chapters, but the key findings may be summarised here as follows: Political, economic, historic, and socio-cultural factors have greatly influenced the cultural policy of the Korean central government, but Korean municipal orchestras are influenced more by policies of local governments who provide them with a source of funding. Players in Korean municipal orchestras are highly satisfied with their work but dissatisfied with present pay, lack of authority, and the hierarchical structure. Orchestral administrative staff are dissatisfied with lack of autonomy and promotion. Male players have higher perception of intrapersonal conflict and intergroup conflict compared to female players, and male players have a greater preference for using integrating and compromising styles when managing interpersonal conflict with peers. Korean municipal orchestras, having a public service role, have been used to receiving relatively stable financial aid from local governments, but this has created a lack of commercial awareness about what is required to bolster their legitimacy in the face of potential financial cuts and small audiences. The 'civilizing mission' of the arts is no longer accepted as automatic justification. Although a complete governance change is considered a key factor for the success of municipal orchestras, such change is inadequate in itself: the real challenge for a brighter future lies with players, administrative staff, and the cities and their cooperation.