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Edited by Elaine Ramirez (elaine@groovekorea.com) COVER stORy GrooveCast GrooveCast host Chance Dorland speaks with journalist John Power about why the media in Korea isn’t doing its job. Subscribe to GrooveCast in the iTunes Store or listen online at groovekorea.com. O ne month after the Sewol ferry sank and killed more than 300 people, Korea’s second-largest newspaper ran a full-page apology. In it, the JoongAng Ilbo sought forgiveness for its reporting on the disaster, which had been riddled with misinformation and salacious speculation. “Our incorrect reports have caused confusion and pain to readers and the families of the ferry victims. We feel ashamed and apologize for that,” the statement read, as cited in the Wall Street Journal. The apology was just one of many from media outlets that parroted incorrect government reports of the death toll, excluded voices critical of the official response to the sinking and even fabricated reports from the scene. As it did for many other facets of Korean society, the disaster exposed a rot at the heart of the news media. Sewol exposed a low point in Korean journalism, but it was no exception either. Media watchers and journalists describe fundamental, longstanding problems facing the industry. They paint a picture of a landscape blighted by government and corporate interference, corruption, incompetence and apathy. “If you take a look at the appearance of the Korean media terrain, it’s quite good,” says Choi Kyung-young, a veteran journalist who left a long career at the Korean Broadcasting System last year to join Newstapa, an investigative journalism outlet launched in 2012. “They will say it is quite advanced. But if you take a deep look inside … the culture of the Korean media’s organization, it is almost like the 19th or early 20th century — still very authoritarian.” On the surface, Korea’s media appears to be thriving, and even an example to a region where liberal democracy is the exception rather than the norm. The country’s peaceful transition to democracy in the late ‘80s promised journalists a newfound freedom to report without fear or favor. Local-language newspapers still boast circulations that would be the envy of media companies in most developed countries: Chosun Ilbo, the country’s largest daily, runs about as many print editions as the combined print and digital circulation of the New York Times, in a far smaller market. The local media continues to be among the freest in Asia, according to both Reporters Without Borders and Freedom House. But compared to other democratic countries, the laws protecting freedom of expression are fickle. Korea’s rankings on Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders’ yearly press freedom indexes are sliding, with the latter dropping seven notches to No. 57 this year. Many journalists complain of pervasive government and corporate pressure. Others routinely ignore basic journalistic principles, often in apparent ignorance of why they matter at all. Story by John Power / Illustrations by Rob Green and Sergio Mateos Additional reporting by Moon Soo-hyun
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