hankyoreh

Thursday, May 15, marks the twentieth anniversary of the birth of The Hankyoreh, the first newspaper in the world owned entirely by public shareholders. We cannot put in words the sentiment we are overcome with as we look back at the long and difficult path we’ve taken since we began. The death throes of dictatorship were still being felt during The Hankyoreh’s early years, and the unseen persecution we faced meant there were always questions as to whether the paper would survive. Editorial advisor Lee Yeong-hee was arrested just for putting together plans to begin covering North Korea from inside the country, and our editorial offices were once served with a search warrant.

We didn’t give in, however, and sought to destroy the taboos of news coverage forced upon the media by those in power. We pulled away the Cold War ideology that had been used to make the division of the Korean Peninsula something permanent. We contributed to the eradication of the remnants of authoritarianism by exposing the darkest sides of power and human rights abuses that had long remained hidden. The Hankyoreh also spoke for the weak in our society, people ignored by the established media. It encouraged chaebol reform by digging into allegations of real estate speculation by the chaebol and collusive connections between big business and the highest echelons of government. It would not be too much to say that the history of The Hankyoreh is the history of the advances in democracy Korea has made in the past twenty years in that it has served as a catalyst for realizing democratization in all areas of Korean society. It is likely because of this contribution that The Hankyoreh is seen by the public as the country’s most trustworthy newspaper.

Korean society has gone through massive changes since The Hankyoreh began. The authoritarian system came to an end, and the procedural democracy of achieving peaceful changes of government through elections took root. Having accomplished this, the people’s interests have changed to quality of life issues such as education, housing, the environment, ecology and medical welfare. However, the democratic governments of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun sometimes jumped on the neoliberal bandwagon and sometimes looked on as neoliberalism had its way, and in doing so caused further socioeconomic disparity. Popular distrust and disgust with progressive ideas and values grew deep as a result.

We believe that the strength of the democracy movement should focus on achieving a substantive democracy that can reduce socioeconomic disparity and guarantee participation in a humane life. We will seek out ways to overcome the crises big and small that Korean society faces today, such as the issues of irregular employment and social polarization, based on the principles of trust and solidarity. This will, of course, not be easy. It will require we give serious thought to our past and, with accurate analysis of the realities we face, have a long-term vision for the future. We need to have a flexible attitude that allows us to look at the issues directly affecting the lives of the masses from their point of view.

In the areas of peace and human rights as well, we must look beyond the Korean Peninsula to include in our sights Northeast Asia and the world, because we believe the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, one that aims toward reunification, can be further advanced through international solidarity with forces for peace in the region and around the globe. The North Korean human rights issue needs a wise and prudent approach based on universal rights, one that does not target the North Korean regime for collapse. The rights of the now more than one million migrant workers in Korea and the increasing number of multicultural families must also not be ignored or deferred.

Let’s look outside the country. The global order centered around the United States, the sole remaining superpower after the end of the Cold War, is going through a multipolar restructuring with the decline of the United States and the rise of China. President Lee Myung-bak’s foreign policy, however, shows no concrete foreign policy strategy other than strengthening the U.S.-Korea alliance. Korea could find itself on the sidelines in dynamic restructuring of the Northeast Asian order, which includes improving relations between Washington and Pyongyang and reconciliation between Beijing and Tokyo. Korea could find it hard to avoid being left isolated unless there is a fundamental transformation in the tone of Lee’s foreign policy.

In the future as well, we, The Hankyoreh, will be an unchanging monitor and critic of power, making clear at every turn the errors of the elements with political and economic control. We will grasp the new call of the times and lead the way in inter-Korean reconciliation and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula, just as we have since we first began. We will take an open approach and prepare a place for discussion for all, this while giving ear to those whose views and claims differ from ours. On this the day of our twentieth anniversary we reaffirm the validity of the spirit with which we first began, that of the Korean nation, democracy and civil rights. We will walk the way of the progressive media, so as to attain a life as a warm community, this with a flexible composure that never goes against the flow of the times and never loses hope.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]