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| "70 Years of The Korea Times" is an account of the English daily's seven decades of history, starting from its founding during the Korean War. The limited edition was published recently to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the newspaper's establishment in 2020. Korea Times photo by Kang Hyun-kyung |
The Korea Times' anniversary book unveils behind-the-scenes stories about the newsroom, decades-long struggles to pursue fair, balanced journalism
By Kang Hyun-kyung
"70 Years of The Korea Times (1950-2020)" offers an extensive historical account of the struggles of Korea's oldest English-language newspaper ― from its birth amid the gunfire, chaos and ashes of the Korean War to the present day ― to bridge Korea and the outside world.
The special edition was released recently to celebrate the English daily's landmark 70th anniversary last year. It provides a fascinating, detailed account of what happened in the newsroom, as well as how those debates affected the paper's tone and coverage of milestone events that shaped Korea's modern history.
With the inclusion of black-and-white photos illustrating the past and present of the newspaper and its people, the 380-page report is full of "exclusive, unknown stories" about the newspaper, as it shares some behind-the-scenes stories about its newsroom.
The newspaper's 70 years of history has been marked by twists and turns since its establishment.
While the two Koreas were at war, then-President Syngman Rhee felt the dire need for there to be an English newspaper that could inform people outside of Korea about what was going on inside the country. His awareness and support for the creation of The Korea Times was critical.
"It was President Rhee who was most vocal and active in the creation of the English daily from the onset of the war. Before taking power, he had been in exile in the United States for a long time and was fully aware of the significance of English media outlets," the book reads.
With Rhee's full support, Helen Kim, who was tapped by Rhee in August 1950 to lead the wartime Public Affairs Ministry as minister, took the initiative to found an English daily.
Having earned her master's and doctoral degrees in the United States, Kim had an extensive network of academics as well as influential figures, both in Korea and the United States. She teamed up with several professors from her alma mater, Ewha Womans University, where she had served as president prior to her taking the helm at the ministry, to form the preparatory committee responsible for finding writers and raising money to finance the publication of the newspaper. Their months of hard work eventually led to the publication of The Korea Times' first edition on Nov. 1, 1950.
In the first edition, the paper declared its mission in a front-page editorial: "The Korea Times is born today with these objective, intention and duty to help the world get acquainted with Korean culture."
The paper's founding philosophy was destined to be tested. Journalism is guided by fairness, balance and justice. Considering these principles, it is no surprise that a newspaper that was born with the mission to "promote" the country for overseas readers soon faced a dilemma, due to conflicts of interest between its founding mission and its pursuit of impartiality as a media outlet.
Depending heavily on financial support from the government, the paper was asked to curry favor with the Rhee government. In journalism, however, siding with a certain political force is tantamount to suicide. The voices of journalists are needed to raise criticism of the government if it is heading in the wrong direction.
If journalists turn a deaf ear to this call from society, their fates will be doomed, as readers will lose trust in their reporting.
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| Page 262 of "70 Years of The Korea Times (1950-2020)" explains the English newspaper's recent reorganization towards transforming into a leader in online journalism. Korea Times photo by Kang Hyun-kyung |
The Korea Times' journalists were grappling with the direction of coverage in May 1952 when President Rhee was in the course of taking actions towards solidifying his presidency into a dictatorship. He declared wartime martial law and put some 50 opposition party politicians behind bars to consolidate his power and win reelection. Historians labeled the series of Lee's abuses of power during that year the "Political Turmoil of Busan," as the southern port city was South Korea's wartime capital while Seoul was occupied by the invading North Korean army.
Inside the newsroom, there was heated debate about whether the paper should stand up against the Rhee government or stay silent. Back then, it was a tough decision to make, mainly because the newspaper hinged on financial support from the Rhee government for its operation.
After rounds of debate, the journalists finally agreed to follow the path of journalism, although this decision might endanger the Rhee government's financial support for the paper.
Then-Managing Editor Hur Heyon took the initiative to shift the paper's stance from that of an ally of the wartime government to that of a critic, so as to stop Rhee from abusing the authority of the presidency.
His decision was backed by his boss, Helen Kim. Kim, The Korea Times' CEO at the time, as well as the publisher of the newspaper and once Rhee's confidant, was determined to resist the president's authoritarian decisions. She gave reporters the green light to write whatever was in the interests of justice and that would serve the best interests of the paper, as such information was the readers' right to know.
Under the auspices of Kim, The Korea Times ran a host of stories critical of Rhee, his repression of opposition candidates and his political maneuvering to stay in power.
Embarrassed and at the same time angered, the Rhee government cut funding for The Korea Times, causing the paper to experience financial difficulties.
The paper's arduous journey for freedom of the press came at a price. But it didn't give in, and instead kept going ahead with its constructive criticism of the government.
The 1952 incident signaled a starting point for The Korea Times in its decades-long pursuit of freedom of the press, as an independent newspaper free from political influence.
The management's courage to stand up to the dictatorship turned out to be the right move. The paper won the trust and hearts of the public.
"70 Years of The Korea Times (1950-2020)" tells the story of the English newspaper's tumultuous journey to earn freedom of the press and freedom of expression against steep odds.
While the paper's independence from political influence has been a challenge, particularly during the authoritarian regimes, contemporary obstacles to freedom of the press stems from the unchecked power of capitalism and the tyranny of the minority.
At times, a small number of vocal people try to dominate public opinion, exaggerating what happened and the consequences in order to stoke fear, influence public policies and shape the tone of public discourses.
Media outlets' heavy reliance on corporate ads and sponsorships produces another significant challenge that can threaten the freedom of the press.
How might a newspaper ensure its integrity and independence from corporate financial influence, gaining trust from readers as, "the premier trustworthy global media outlet as well as the winner of digital era," as stated frequently in management speeches and written addresses?
The Korea Times anniversary book raises this key question.
