By Nho Joon-hun
There are many reasons why readers pick up The Korea Times in the morning — to get the latest news and information, learn English or simply for pleasure.
Oftentimes though, it can be a challenge, also for many reasons — little time in this smartphone-era, not enough proficiency for comfortable reading or, simply it is, as some readers say, a little expensive with all the online news.
If we are able to set aside some of the complaints and difficulties, there are certainly more reasons than not to spend a little time everyday fingering through The Korea Times which at 20,000 won a month, including free delivery, is arguably, reasonably priced.
That set aside, one man has made it his mission to bring the country’s oldest English newspaper closer to readers, particularly those who are interested and ready to improve their English.
It has been a long journey for Lee Chang-sup, the current chief editorial writer of The Korea Times whose smiling mug shot you can catch in his Friday columns.
For a span of over 15 years, during which he served as the executive managing editor for nearly six years (2004-2010), he has painstakingly collected, compiled and analyzed the contents of the newspaper.
The result is “How to Read The Korea Times” (375 pages, published by Hannarae Publishing), a comprehensive guide to getting the most out of reading the daily and eventually utilize the acquired skills to not only write but also prepare Powerpoint presentations.
In the book, Lee argues that there are actually few materials which are so accessible, plentiful in content quantity and informative than an English newspaper in striving to improve English skills.
He says not only can you learn English but pick up the latest information in all aspects of society — politics, economics, culture, sports and technology, just to name a few.
And the fact that The Korea Times is a homegrown production tends to give Korean readers in particular a more comfortable perspective, even as they focus on the language aspect of things. It is getting to the root of things, so to speak.
In terms of application, learning to read the newspaper more efficiently can be used not just to improve English but utilize the newfound proficiency to gain better scores in TOEIC, TOEFL, TEPS and the college admissions exam not to mention make better presentations in English.
Over the 15 years, Lee systematically compiled vocabulary used in The Korea Times and the results showed that it came to about 14,000 words. When very common words and peripherals (like friend, friendly, friendship which would count as one) are excluded, the vocabulary count comes to about 10,000, similar to the number of words that are used in certified international English tests as well as the Korean college admission exam.
With this in mind, the career journalist gets down to the nitty gritty, setting out to present 10 specific formulas on “how to read” captions, headlines, the lead paragraph, short stories, long articles editorials and columns.
In each formula, the 53-year-old author again breaks them down to 10 pointers, introducing examples and providing comprehensive guides as to why the sentences or articles are structured as they are, each of which comes with Korean translations and explanations.
In each case, the book is careful to cover specific newspaper writing skills, pointing out why certain words were used and why the tenses are the way they are and repeatedly emphasizing the importance of KISS (keeping it short and simple) and the 5W+H (who, what, when, where, why and how)
Aside from sample articles, he also offers numerous short examples which readers can easily understand and digest, making it easier as they attempt to get into more depth in reading The Korea Times.
Specific is the word that keeps coming to mind when talking about this colorfully designed publication which attempts to cover every little aspect of investigating the daily newspaper.
Specific because Lee takes the hands of the readers and walks them along challenges like how to read political, economic, cultural and sports articles, columns and editorials, step by step.
And while Lee is very serious about bringing The Korea Times closer to its readers, he is very candid, suggesting that at least in the beginning, readers should stick to topics of interest.
The book also gives pointers like not turning the newspaper into a burden. After all, it is a daily and readers get it every day. Don’t be shy about throwing out copies that are a couple of days old, it implies. Toward the end, Lee also tries to offer proven methods of writing better essays, again coming with a comprehensive 10 pointers, as well as how to write better articles in English.
In Appendix I, II and III, he also includes expressions that are commonly used in certain articles and lists of vocabulary that are important in various specialized fields, including the latest terms used such as social networks and Korean food (hansik) .
Some readers may not have been completely aware of the very critical nature of the use of commas and hyphens, colons and semi-colons, apostrophes and quotation marks.
The book also explains how to utilize content in The Korea Times through the Internet, smartphones and tablets which have, of course, all become excellent sources of accessing news.
The book itself, while not trim, is not a tough read because it contains samples, translations and explanations so that readers don’t have to pick up the dictionary at all although a major portion of it is in English.
Finally, it is the attraction to the reading of The Korea Times which Lee hopes to bring with conviction and even help develop an affinity for writing in English.
As if this is not enough, there is a QR (quick response) code at the bottom of the cover using which readers can download into their smartphones a dictionary of useful words and terms used in The Korea Times, a lecture on reading the daily more effectively and vocabulary commonly used in economic articles. So, read on bravely.