By Andrei Lankov
Newspapers are important ― as every politician or businessman knows only too well. And they continue to be important even when they have to compete against electronic media and the Internet. But a few decades ago, their importance was even greater.
The first Korean newspaper appeared in 1883, but it was far from being an instant success (actually, it went bankrupt after a few years). Things changed in the late 1890s ― not the least due to the enthusiasm of So Chae-pil, the founder of The Independent, the first private newspaper in Korean history. The Independent's success demonstrated two important facts: first, that a commercial newspaper was viable in Korea and second, that a newspaper can wield tremendous political power.
The late 1890s and early 1900s saw a 'newspaper boom' in Korea. In 1898 alone, four new newspapers appeared, including Maeil sinmun ― the nation's first daily paper. In 1900-1910 newspapers were counted in the dozens. They were published in vernacular Korean ― not in classical Chinese, which then still remained the language of an educated and privileged minority.
Of course, we should remember that when we speak of an early 1900s 'newspaper boom' it is quite different from our present-day assumptions. Even the most popular newspapers of the era had a circulation of no more than a few thousand. Nonetheless, around 1900 Korea acquired a small but active class of newspaper-readers.
Faced with the potentially dangerous new newspaper phenomena, the government tried to control it. In 1899 the first 'Newspaper Law' was introduced, but journalists found it very restrictive ― and chose to ignore it. The government turned a blind eye as well. Then, in 1907 a new law was promulgated. This law was written under pressure from Japan and proved to be even more restrictive. It outlived the colonial regime and was not completely revoked until 1952.
The rise in Japanese influence led to the birth of a pro-Japanese press, often secretly sponsored by Tokyo. Its main message was simple: that Japan was a natural ally and protector of Korea. Some publishers sincerely believed this message, while others were opportunists, often on the Japanese payroll.
In 1900-1910, Korean media was dominated by two newspapers - Jeguk Sinmun and Hwangseong Sinmun. Jeguk Sinmun was published in hangeul only, without the use of Chinese characters ― a policy which earned it the somewhat derogatory name of the 'female newspaper'. In those days, Korean phonetic script was still chiefly associated with women and other underprivileged, undereducated groups. ``Real gentlemen" were always fluent in classical Chinese, and Hwangseon Sinmun, published with a large number of characters, was the 'gentleman's paper.'
In 1900, Nam Kung-ok, the then editor of Hwangseong Sinmun became the first Korean journalist to face persecution for his writings. In August of that year, he stated in his article that Japan and Russia had reached a secret agreement about dividing Korea into two parts. Taking into consideration the ambitions of the two powers this was plausible, but the government was outraged because journalists were meddling with the 'high affairs of the state.' Nam stood trial but was acquitted (alas, many of his colleagues in later eras were not so lucky).
Another novelty was the introduction of the serialized novel. In July 1907, Mansebo began to run the first such novel, called Tears of Blood. It was penned by the newspaper editor, Yi In-jik, and brought in a number of subscribers. In the early 1900s, the serialized novels were a flourishing genre worldwide, but in Korea they garnered a special prominence. Most Korean novels of the 1920s and 1930s were initially published in newspapers. In some cases, a successful novel would run for years.
Another important novelty was introduced in 1909, when Daehan Minbo published the first ever comic strip. Since then, this genre has been indispensable for Korean periodicals.
The printing of the comic strip was a technological challenge, since in the early 1900s there were only a limited number of ways to reproduce images in a newspaper. Actually, the pictures were first carved on wooden blocks, which were then incorporated in the typeset. Until the late 1950s, newspapers carried few visual images, and these images were rather crude by modern standards.
However, the flourishing of the Korean press did not last. The loss of independence had a dramatic impact on country's media. In a matter of months the lively newspaper scene was virtually wiped out.
Prof. Andrei Lankov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and now teaches at Kookmin University in Seoul. He has recently published “The Dawn of Modern Korea,” which is now on sale at Kyobyo Book Center and other major bookstores. The book is based on columns published in The Korea Times.