Foreign-language newspaper guild marks 9th anniversary
Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Yu In-chon, first row fifth from left, and Choi Jin-young, first row fourth from left, chairman of the Foreign Language Newspapers Association of Korea (FNA), pose with envoys to Korea and employees of member newspapers who won prizes at the FNA's ninth anniversary event at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, Tuesday. Winners of this year's awards are Paul Kerry of The Korea Herald, front row left; Kim Jee-hee of The Korea JoongAng Daily, front row third from left; Kim Bo-eun, front row fifth from right, Park Ji-won, front row fourth from right, Lee Jong-eun, front row third from right, and Shim Hyun-chul, second row right, of The Korea Times; and Cui Jinning of The Aju Daily, front row second from right. Korea Times photo by Kim Ji-hoon
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.
Culture Minister Yu In-chon delivers congratulatory remarks during a ceremony celebrating the ninth anniversary of the Foreign Language Newspapers Association of Korea at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
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."
Choi Jin-young, center, chairman of the Foreign Language Newspapers Association of Korea (FNA), poses with The Korea Times' staff members who received an award during the FNA's ninth anniversary event at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, Tuesday. They are, from left, photojournalist Shim Hyun-chul, designer Lee Jong-eun and reporters Kim Bo-eun and Park Ji-won. Korea Times photo by Kim Ji-hoon
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.