• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.384-399
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• 2021

This study aims to identify the characteristics and meanings that Korean musical enthusiasts take on as cultural intermediaries of musical content by analyzing the real-time conversations they have while watching musicals performed in online spaces. To this end, the 'Live TALK' chat during the 'ontact' (online contact) performance of the musical Marie Curie was observed in real-time and subsequently analyzed in terms of the characteristics of online cultural intermediaries: their owned capital, their mediating language, and their relationship with the consumers. As a result of the analysis, musical enthusiasts were found to possess a wealth of cultural capital based on practical experience and inquiry, and to be utilizing specific identifying expressions in their language use. In addition, they appeared to be interactive in their communication with the general audience, which could be seen in the flow of spontaneous conversations as well as questions and answers occurring in the live chat. This study is significant in confirming that musical enthusiasts are positioning themselves as new cultural intermediaries through their cultural practices: taking on the role of guides and mediators in the online space 'Live TALK.'