By Oh Young-jin
Assistant managing editor
There is no better choice than Sohn Jie-ae for the daunting job of leading Arirang TV, Korea’s supposed window to the world, because revamping Arirang will require the expertise and experience of somebody with Sohn’s stature.
Actually, the former CNN Seoul bureau chief expressed her concern about whether she could adroitly handle the tough task of leading the state-run multi-lingual channel during a telephone conversation a couple of days ago in a humble manner.
Coincidentally, she didn’t sound overwhelmed. Rather, she spoke as if she were both a curious child, who was taking apart an alarm watch for the first time and an experienced oncologist who was dealing with a well-advanced case in a patient.
This dual approach is precisely what Arirang needs.
Arirang is suffering from a set of chronic diseases ranging from identity crisis among the staff and its audience and loss of relevance in a broader context of society to financial difficulty that arrests its development. Someone like Sohn with her background and creativity is the most suitable one to fix the situation.
In her post-appointment interview, she was right on the money when she talked about the new identity Arirang should take in the age of convergence with ``hallyu” of K-pop and K-dramas gaining global attention.
``Korea as a nation has not been sufficiently publicized,” she was quoted as saying. ``We are happy to see K-pop popular around the world but we don’t know exactly what makes it appeal to the global audience. My mission is to spur the popularity of things Korean by making information more readily available in a larger number of channels.”
These are encouraging first words from the new Arirang president.
Among her many challenges Sohn may or may not need to deal with KBS World, the state-run broadcasting station’s arm for overseas operations. KBS World had tried to absorb Arirang when a possible merger was under review but now they have agreed to coexist. Although a lot of what Arirang does is a significant portion of what KBS World already does so, for the sake of saving taxpayer’s money, the two should become one under Arirang’s control and possibly give it the economy of scale it needs.
Sohn’s appointment itself has already solved one chronic problem ― ending a lineage of executives from vernacular broadcasting stations who have taken the top job at Arirang.
What is crucial now is that Sohn sets up a merit-based selection system that can be continued with those who come after her. This will establish a precious precedent of independence for broadcasters from the influence of those in power and help lay the groundwork for the search for solutions to other issues that have plagued Arirang ― a strong sense of purposelessness among its staff that is testified by a high turnover rate and reflected in some of its programming that perplexes viewers, sometimes making them wonder why they watch Arirang in the first place.
One may overcome these obstacles one by one or come up with an omnibus solution to tackle them all at once. The latter is preferable in this case.
Sohn has the ability to do it. In doing so, she will be able to uplift Korea’s public diplomacy _ helping the rest of the world gain a better understanding of Korea. Her skills and extensive training will increase the chance for Korea’s initiatives and culture to be accepted globally in a coherent manner and strengthen its leadership position. Sohn should aim high, she has the right connections as one, who just finished her stint as a presidential secretary and a spokesman for Korea during the G20 summit last year.
Other elements that remain disparate but need combing include the Korea Foundation, an obscure organization under the wing of the Foreign Ministry with the job to support cultural events overseas. But basically the foundation has served to provide posh jobs for retired diplomats with a few notable exceptions such as Im Sung-joon.
Another is the Korea Overseas Information Service under the wing of the culture ministry, whose potential has been underutilized for some time. It used to deal with foreign correspondents and acted as a source for gathering information from abroad but now it is languishing due to neglect, a dwindling budget and a failure to adapt.
Then, there are three English-language newspapers that are also fighting to gain a bigger market.
The three outlets may not have strong leverage individually but, when put together, they can create formidable synergy that could be used as an effective tool or coordinated channel of communication with the world that may solve Korea’s vexing challenge to sustain hallyu’s popularity.
For instance, these organizations can work in tandem in one big cycle ― the Korea Foundation organizes a cultural event, Arirang broadcasts, The Korea Times prints and the Korea Overseas Information Service monitors. The order may be different but the result will reinforce each element in the cycle, creating stronger, coordinated appeal of things Korean to the rest of the world. It can apply not just to K-pop but also to other vital national PR issues.
In what is another stepping stone in a prolific and impressive career, my heartfelt congratulations go out to Sohn with anticipation of the improvements she will make to media in Korea.