Dr LEE Bonghyun: How Hankyoreh Changed the Korean Journalism

About the speaker - LEE Bonghyun
LEE Bonghyun is a Senior Research Fellow at Hankyoreh (the Korean Race Daily). Established at a time when tyrannical governments censored every newsroom and jailed political dissidents, Hankyoreh is one of the earliest avant-garde papers and proponents of democracy and freedom in South Korea. Their founders were reporters sacked by the pro-government press for their incompliance with media censorship. Understanding that single ownership might lead to commercial or political compromise, Hankyoreh employed a crowd-funding model where shares were distributed to donors, as a move to guarantee the newspaper's independence. Over the course of political advancement, Hankyoreh has wrestled with political hurdles and redefined journalism in Korea. With limited resources, they're none but another David stoning Goliath, decisively promulgating new ideas in 3 areas: Democracy; Reconciliation between South/North Koreas; and Human Rights.

關於講者 - 李逢鉉博士
李逢鉉博士來自韓民族日報。韓民族日報是南韓最早的獨立媒體，倡導民主發展。報章成年之時，南韓尚未有民主政制，獨裁政府厲行新聞審查，囚禁異見人士。當年不少記者不肯就範，被其他報社開除。他們知道南韓人渴求公正的媒體，於是創立韓民族日報，向群眾集資，獨立營運，以免受政治勢力干預。韓民族日報以獨立報社的姿態，成功抵抗種種政治壓迫，改寫了南韓傳媒業的主流。時至今天，他們仍然堅持宣揚民主、南北韓對話和人權這3項信念。