From March 25th to 30th, 2019 the Journalists Association of Korea hosted the annual World Journalists Conference - an event organized to gather professionals from around the world in order to discuss and examine current trends and issues in the world of journalism, with the focus on specific topics. The conference was attended by 70 correspondents, reporters and executives from 50 countries, who discussed the state of journalism and its role in geopolitical events. The program included site visits and cultural excursions for journalists to get acknowledged with the rich cultural history, modern technological advances and current political representatives of South Korea.
This year's theme of the conference was a particularly important one: "Role of Journalists in Ensuring Peace on the Korean Peninsula". Taking place not long after the North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit, this topic of conversation allowed the attendants of the conference to provide fresh and insightful takes on the issue at hand from both Korean professionals and international representatives. The conference was moderated by the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Chung-Ang University of Seoul, Lee Min-Kyu. Throughout the event he expressed the Republic of Korea's great desire and willingness to cooperate with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and foreign states to make steps towards a "United Korea".
In the special keynote speech Korea's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Lee Tae-ho did a rundown of the current state of relations between South Korea and North Korea, pointing out the great progress that was able to be made in the recent times. In fact, President Moon Jae-in and Chairman Kim Jong-un have both recently explicitly expressed their resolutions to make effort towards progress in relations between the two states. During his speech to international journalists Lee Tae-ho echoed President Moon's aspirations to resume DPRK-U.S. nuclear negotiations and the complete denuclearization on the Korean peninsula. He called for journalists and media outlets to make an effort to contribute to creating a favorable environment for peace on the Korean Peninsula.
The subject of journalists' impact on the situation at hand was also explored in speeches by key speakers from China, Germany, Indonesia and the United States. Zhu Xiaoqian, Deputy Executive Director of the News Center of SMG in China, called for journalists to "disseminate the concept of peace, guiding the public to profoundly understand the dangers of war", pointing out the importance of journalists' work in being the source of public's access to information and shaping people's views on public issues. Theresa Pfuetzner, reporter from Germany's Die Welt, brought to light the importance of empathic reporting, "beyond stereotypes and populism". Teguh Santosa, from the Indonesian Journalists Association, shared his experiences from his numerous visits to North Korea and urged journalists to widen their perspective in order to make objective judgments about all sides of a conflict. President of the Society of Professional Journalists of USA, Janet Marie Tarquinio, expressed that while opinion journalism is important, it needs to be clearly indicated as such for the readers to make a clear distinction between factual reports and articles made to validate an opinion.
The conference concluded by allowing representatives from 15 countries to share with their colleagues the current status of journalism in their home countries. While there were clear differences, many shared similar issues and growing concerns about the current state of media both inside and outside their home countries.
Many journalists voiced their concern with the growing popularity of online giants like Google, Facebook and Twitter, which are becoming the preferred source of information among a growing amount of population. Moreover, low demand for traditional journalistic outlets has led to a decrease in advertisement interest, resulting in less revenue and more employee layoffs, as shared in particular by journalists from Australia and France. In fact, troubling reports have been made from all around the world, including recent announcements by American media giants Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, and Gannett, among others, about their decision to layoff a huge part of their workforce. This resulted in over 2500 people losing their jobs in American media since the start of 2019.
Another problem expressed during the conference was the prevalence of "fake news" and their impact on traditional media outlets. Journalists expressed their concern that these stories undermine the credibility of other journalists and reporters. Some shared that with the growing amount of fast online reports and personal accounts on events, people's trust in television and print media is rapidly decreasing, especially among the youth. This is also another reason why journalists working for these media outlets feel less secure in their jobs than ever.
As part of the conference, throughout the week journalists were able to visit historical sites, as well as witness the newest Korean developments. The agenda included meetings with the mayors of Seoul, Suwon, Sejong, Gwangju, Daejon and Incheon, all of whom expressed their gratitude for visiting their cities and their landmarks, which included the Jinkwansa Temple, Samsung Innovation Museum, Saemangeum Seawall, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) and the Independence Hall of Korea. As such, journalists were able to learn about the past events, present situation and future plans of the Korean cities and their people.
In a statement Journalists Association of Korea stated that it wishes not only to strengthen the solidarity with foreign journalists, but also to publicize the Korean people's strong will to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula, thereby instilling peace and harmony throughout the global community". They expressed one of the goals is "to strengthen ties with international outlets and build reliable friendships in the process".
Journalists Association of Korea celebrates its 55th anniversary this year with over 200 company members and 10,000 individual journalists, while this year's World Journalists Conference is the seventh one to be held since 2013.
M.Taabaldiev,
Bishkek