KJCKorea
Journal Central

This study is aimed at taking a closer look at the background for the creation and the codification mode of the radio novel "The Roses are Sad" written by Jang, Deok-jo. The radio novel of 53 episodes aired every day at 6:30 p.m. for 15 minutes between December 1, 1956 and January 26, 1957 on the <Serial Story> program, and Actress Choi, Eun-hui played reading. Encouraged by the emergence of a new private broadcaster and supported by the initiatives of new broadcasting leadership, the Seoul Central Broadcasting Station first introduced <Serial Novel> Program in the mid-1950s. The first edition of the program "The Roses are Sad" was a prime-time radio show. Even though radio novels at that time were still incomplete as a stand-alone art, "The Roses are Sad" showed some distinctive radio novel formats. For example, the programs used more speaking lines to add more spices to the one-person reading and to arouse listeners' imagination, reduced the number of characters to help listeners to distinguish characters based only on radio actor's voice and easily follow the flow and situation of the story, and cast a persuasive narrator to familiarize listeners with the messages. Its efforts to convey accurate messages served as both an advantage and a limitation. The narrative style of this radio novel featured the grammar patterns of romance stories and contemporary incidents of that time, which were very familiar to listers. Based on this narrative style, it was trying to make the issue of the remarriage of widows with children a public discourse. Love, conflicts and death of the character Roh, Baek-mi called listers' attention to the controversial issue of widows' remarriage. Dominant power at that time strengthened motherhood ideology to disallow their remarriage and this novel conveyed this to listeners as a primary code. There were some minor codes as well. The conflicts in Roh Baek-mi's love repeatedly unfolded, leaving room for consideration, and other negotiable codes proposed by supporting characters could be seen as the necessity to change the predominant code. In addition, if listeners embraced Roh, Baek-mi's death as a paradoxical survival tactic, they could find a hidden defiant code.

Jang, Deok-jo, radio novels, "The Roses are Sad", Seoul Central Broadcasting Station, <Serial Story> program, widows, remarriage, encode