2024.07.11
Foreign-language newspaper guild marks 9th anniversary
By Baek Byung-yeul,
The Korea Times - The Foreign Language Newspapers Association of Korea (FNA)
celebrated its ninth anniversary, Tuesday, recognizing contributors who have
promoted information about Korea in various languages.
The FNA was
established in July 2015 to seek cooperation for the development of domestic
foreign language newspapers published daily. Its members include The Korea
Times, The Korea JoongAng Daily, The Korea Herald and The Aju Daily, a Chinese
edition of Aju Business Daily.
To commemorate the
anniversary, a ceremony was held at the Korea Press Center, featuring
distinguished guests including Culture Minister Yu In-chon and American Chamber
of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) chairperson James Kim.
FNA Chairman Choi
Jin-young, who also serves as CEO and publisher of Herald Corp., emphasized
that foreign-language newspapers have become more important than ever as more
global readers are interested in Korea and Korean companies are strengthening
their overseas expansion.
"Leading an
association in a fiercely competitive and challenging business environment is a
very big responsibility. In particular, the increasing use of AI is also
multiplying the difficulties in producing high-quality, fact-based news
content," the chairman said.
"However, the
role and influence of global media are also growing more than ever. Our
association will continue the process of reducing the information gap and
connecting Korea and the world."
He urged the
association members to strengthen cooperation among themselves so as to seek
new opportunities and provide quality information about Korea to readers.
"I believe that
our member companies can create new opportunities through closer cooperation.
We will use our collective intelligence to find ways to reach readers beyond
the borders of Korea, while also promoting exchanges and cooperation with media
outlets representing countries around the world," Choi said.
The culture minister
also expressed gratitude for the role of member newspapers.
"While foreign
media look at Korea through the eyes of outsiders, it is the member companies
of the Korean Association of Foreign Language Newspapers that can accurately
present Korea from an internal perspective," the minister said.
"I believe that
the role of foreign language newspapers has been significant in helping Korea
lead the global trend through K-culture. This is thanks to the passion and
efforts of all of you here today."
AMCHAM chairperson
Kim emphasized the importance of foreign-language media as a window to
introduce Korea to about 1.5 billion English speakers around the world.
"With a target
audience of 1.5 billion English speakers worldwide, the association has
successfully positioned itself as the wider medium for information between
Korea and the rest of the world," Kim said.
"In today's
interconnected world, the role of foreign-language media in shaping global and
domestic political opinion cannot be understated," he further mentioned,
adding "FNA has significantly enhanced Korea's global image by providing
prompt and accurate information."
The FNA also awarded
those who showed outstanding performance during the year at the ceremony.
A team from The
Korea Times, which included reporters Kim Bo-eun, Park Ji-won, photojournalist
Shim Hyun-chul, designer Lee Jong-eun and developer Moon Chan-woong, was
awarded a prize for a digital interactive piece on Korea's immigration policy.
Cui Jinning, a
reporter for The Aju Daily, received the prize for contributing to promoting
close cooperation and understanding between Korea and China. Kim Jee-hee,
leader of the digital team at The Korea JoongAng Daily, won the award for
building a system that checks readers' needs in real-time using traffic and
trend analysis tools. Paul Kerry, chief copy editor of The Korea Herald,
received the prize for outstanding professionalism in news content production.
The ceremony was
also honored by envoys to Korea including Ghanaian Ambassador to Korea Charis
Margaretha Obetsebi-Lamptey Zwennes; Bangladeshi Ambassador to Korea Delwar
Hossain; Qatari Ambassador to Korea Khalid Ebrahim Al-Hamar; Ukrainian
Ambassador to Korea Dmytro Ponomarenko; Chilean Ambassador to Korea Mathias
Francke; Georgian Ambassador to Korea Tarash Papaskua; Tunisian Ambassador to
Korea Kais Darragi; Kazakhstan Ambassador to Korea Nurgali Arystanov and more.
Source: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2024/07/135_378317.html