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The Korea Times, a living history
By Bae Eun-joo
ejbae@koreatimes.co.kr
Since The Korea Times published its first issue on Nov. 1, 1950, it has been on the ground reporting stories from around the world keeping its values of fairness, impartially and independence. These founding values have helped South Korea's longest-running English-language newspaper stay above political affiliation or ideologies and suggest solutions to social, political and economic conflicts as a critical and constructive mediator.
Standing by its mission of informing readers to help shape a fair and just society, The Korea Times has been a witness to the nation's turbulent history over the last seven decades, going through the devastating era of the 1950-53 Korea War and the difficulties stemming from the global financial crisis in the late 1990s.
The paper's first issue was published as a two-page tabloid with an inaugural editorial headlined "Really New Start," stressing the need for the nation to come together for goodwill and cooperation at the height of the Korean War. In 1964, The Korea Times became the frontrunner in reflecting and shaping public opinion as it started inviting readers of all walks of life at home and abroad to contribute to the newly launched daily essay column "Thoughts of The Times."
The paper's pioneering spirit was heightened when The Korea Times started sponsoring the Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards in 1970, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary. Divided into four section ― novels, poetry, short stories and drama ― the translation awards were the first of their kind in Korea to contribute a great deal in promoting Korea literature abroad, even up to this date.
"The Seoul Olympian" was the name of the official 1988 Seoul Olympic Games newspaper published by The Korea Times. As the official Olympic paper, the daily marked a milestone in the history of Korea's English-language journalism as it printed 64 pages every day plus a 124-page special edition containing full entries and another 404-page book covering the complete results and scores. The paper's role as a global messenger continued as it has been the official paper producer for the 1986 Asian Games, the 2005 Seoul Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, the 2003 Daegu Universiade, the Busan International Film Festival and other international events.
The Korea Times is now marking another significant milestone by celebrating its 70th anniversary, amid dramatic changes and upheavals reshaping the media landscape with technological and business model innovations. Just as it weathered the storm and stood the test of time for the past seven decades, The Korea Times remains fully committed to leading the future of media by marrying technological advances with journalism.
