Perspectives of 'Local' News

 

News in South Korea

When choosing a country for this paper, I tried to think of countries that have impressive histories, extensive resources, and influences around the world that directly affect the exportation of mass media. Under these specifics, South Korea instantly stood out to me. 

Since the 1990s, South Korea has made headlines worldwide, as the Korean Wave took over the world. The Korean Wave (K-Wave) is a "global phenomenon" that has evolved into a large-scale interest in South Korean culture. This global interest in South Korea has generated an increase in the distribution of South Korean mass media as well. 

South Korea has a reputation for conservatism and censorship in their culture, as well as their distribution of news. Since 1948, when the government implemented the National Security Act, South Korea has set censorship laws in place that cover news media on a large scale. Censorship in news media has decreased, allowing news media in South Korea to rapidly expand over the years. 

Any media that is capable of reaching a large audience is subject to censorship by the South Korean government. This media includes television, print media, radio, film, theater, text messaging, instant messaging, video games, literature, and the Internet. 

Although this censorship seems extensive, it does not infringe on South Korean's freedom of speech, the censorship is mainly used to monitor news and searches that do not reflect the country's strongly conservative views, such as internet searches for pornography. The National Security Act also grants the government the ability to limit the expression of ideas "deemed pro-North Korean or communist".

One of the most recent developments regarding press freedom was released in late July 2022, when the South Korean government lifted the decades-long ban on North Korean mass media. Korea is one of the most divided countries in the world, with strict travel and communication bans between the borders. For the first time in decades, South Korea will gradually begin to open access to North Korean television, newspapers, and websites. 

Because of the country's censorship and unique standards of mass media, I thought it would be interesting to analyze the news that is deemed important in South Korea and its popularity. 

South Korean Newspapers 

In the last 40 years, South Korea increased its news media by an exceptional amount. For example, in 1980 there were only 28 national newspapers, whereas now there are 122. 

Listed above are the major newspapers in South Korea.

At the top of the list is the Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's most popular and oldest newspaper. This newspaper has been in circulation for over 100 years and has a daily circulation of over 1,800,000.

The online subsidiary of the Chosun Ilbo, Chosun Media, publishes the newspaper in Korean, English, Chinese, and Japanese. 

The online version of the Chosun Ilbo is categorized into several categories at the top of their page: national/politics, North Korea, business, sports, entertainment, and health/lifestyle.

Chosun Ilbo- Korean Translation

Chosun Ilbo- English Translation

From the outside, the Chosun Ilbo shares several similarities with American newspapers. Heavily focused on business and political current events, Chosun Ilbo's main purpose is to provide its readers with "a faithful and precise record of Korean modern history". 

For over the past 100 years, the Chosun Ilbo has led South Korea in the journalism industry with "new plans and challenging experiments, producing unique and the best contents through diverse platforms as it goes beyond the newspaper industry under rapidly changing media environment."

The Korea Herald

The Korea Herald is a leading English-language daily newspaper in South Korea. Since its establishment in 1953, the newspaper has collaborated with international writers to cover news from a global perspective. 

The Korea Herald is operated by the Herald Corporation which also publishes: The Herald Business (Korean-language business daily), The Junior Herald (English-language weekly for teenagers), and The Campus Herald (Korean-language learning weekly for college students). 

I chose this English-language newspaper because of its intensive and specific subsidiaries that appeal to different age groups, as well as current events. For example, the Junior Herald catered to the youth of South Korea, encouraging them to pursue a bright future, while educating them on the current events in their country and the world. The slogan of the paper perfectly encapsulates the purpose behind this paper and the hope for the country's youths, "an English newspaper for future leaders".

Another branch of the Korea Herald is an ode to one of South Korea's finest exports, K-POP. The KPOP Herald reports on all things KPOP, from album releases to birthday celebrations for KPOP Idols. This online newspaper reminds me of a more mature version of the magazines I grew up with (Teen Beat Magazine and Tiger Beat Magazine). 

As the number one English newspaper in South Korea, the Herald Corporation has taken large steps to appeal to different age groups and interest groups in Korea. The smaller magazines (such as KPOP Herald) have attracted major interest in the Herald and the Korean culture itself. 

South Korean Mass Media Overview

One of the most interesting things about South Korea is the cultural representation they incorporate into their news mediums. In America, KPOP may just be a music genre, but in South Korea is actually a major part of the culture, and they use mass media as a way to celebrate their culture. Within this celebration, there is no room for tabloids or criticism of KPOP idols, which would directly violate South Korea's censorship rules. 

After completing my research on South Korean mass media, it is obvious there are big differences between American and foreign journalism techniques. South Korea is a conservative country and takes great pride in its culture and country, and operates in a more "old-fashioned" manner. 

Within South Korean media, there is a lack of social media inclusion, which I believe could boost their productivity and sales, especially when appealing to younger audiences. The operation of online newspapers is a movement in the right direction, allowing current events to be accessible to readers in Korea and around the world.

Another noticeable difference in South Korean news was the lack of political satire in news reports and political updates. In America, it is almost expected for the news to be swayed one way or another, mocking a specific party or political candidate. In Korea, all political news reports are informative and objective, staying away from any comments that can be misconstrued as satirical and disrespectful to the country's leaders. Obviously, this caution comes from the restrictions surrounding the freedom of the press in South Korea, in an attempt to maintain their conservative culture.