New shareholders visit the Hankyoreh, hoping for media that creates a “happy world together”

Posted on : 2017-02-27 17:07 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
In mobile era, readers hope for “more cultural content with a clear identity that can draw interest from more people”
Around 50 new Hankyoreh shareholders pose for a commemorative photo after a tour of and meeting at the Hankyoreh offices in Seoul’s Mapo district
Around 50 new Hankyoreh shareholders pose for a commemorative photo after a tour of and meeting at the Hankyoreh offices in Seoul’s Mapo district

“Some 60,000 people came together to make a newspaper owned by the public rather than an individual. What took place 29 years ago was something unprecedented anywhere in the world. That’s how this space was created.”

Lee Dong-gu, head of the communication team for the Hankyoreh’s shareholder service department, offered this explanation before a copperplate copy of the newspaper’s first issue, from May 15, 1988, which hangs at the entrance on the third floor of its office building in Seoul’s Mapo district. Shareholders gathered around to peer at the tiny script engraved on it. The citizens were newly minted owners of the Hankyoreh who had become shareholders between late 2016 and early 2017.

An invitational roundtable was held for new shareholders at the Hankyoreh’s offices on the evening of Feb. 24. It was attended by 54 people from all over South Korea. Visitors from Busan (shareholder Park Moon-gi) and the cities of Boseong (Yun Ji-hwa) and Mokpo (Seo Moon-jin) in South Jeolla Province had prepared early on to come and see where the Hankyoreh was created. Holding hands with her 11-year-old son and fellow shareholder Hwang Won-ha, Lee Hye-sun marveled at the massive rotary press that takes up the first and second floors of the nine-story building.

“There was a warm and comfortable feeling through the building,” she said.

Park Moon-gi said he “really wanted to come after seeing a picture of the Hankyoreh’s rooftop park in the newspaper a few years ago.”

“Maybe it was just a really well-taken photograph, but I had thought it would be about 300 to 400 pyeong (990 to 1,320 square meters), and it actually ended up being like the back of my hand,” he said.

“Even so, you can see Namsan, the sky looks really big, and you can smoke there too, so it was great,” he added, drawing laughs from other shareholders.

The Hankyoreh greeted around 2,000 new shareholders in the three months from Nov. 15 to Feb. 24. It also raised a total of 656,405,000 won (US$580,800), or the equivalent of 131,281 shares.

Shareholders offered different reasons for why they decided to purchase shares.

“I felt bad about not being one of the inaugural shareholders in 1987-88,” said Kim Chang-beom.

“It was gratifying to read a newspaper all in Korean while I was staying overseas,” said Kim Mi-hye.

“Hankyoreh readers felt a newfound sense of satisfaction with the way [the newspaper] broke the Choi Sun-sil scandal while no one was paying attention,” said Lee Won-hwi.

Shareholders shared their hopes for the Hankyoreh as they toured the company and met with managers and journalists. Han Seong-chan came bearing a scrapbook he had created from “reading everything closely for three hours a day and summarizing things so I can read it over and over again.”

“I’m especially interested in issues involving senior citizens and cooperatives. I’d like to be able to read that sort of thing more often,” Han added.

Shareholder Choi Bong-seok said he hoped the Hankyoreh could put an end to the arms race and contribute to peace between South and North Korea, while Lee Won-hwi expressed support for the goal of becoming a “medium for creating a happy world together,” which the Hankyoreh has declared since last year as its reason for being as a company.

“It’s good for our children to feel angry when they read the paper, but they should also feel happy at the same time,” Lee said.

Besides their hopes, shareholders also feel greater concerns now that they have become owners in addition to readers.

“Somewhere along the way, people who supported the Hankyoreh turned into ‘leftists,’” said shareholder Lee Gwang-ho.

“I see it as a tone that goes beyond ‘left’ and ‘right’ to represent ordinary people and common sense, and in that sense I think the editing needs to be done in a way that resonates with a lot of people, where they see it as ’our newspaper,‘” Lee continued.

Shareholder Choi Gyu-bae said, “I’m really grateful that the Hankyoreh remained in good health for 30 years purely on the strength of the public, but with the mobile era there needs to be more cultural content with a clear identity that can draw interest from more people.”

After hearing from the shareholders, Hankyoreh chief editor Jeong Suk-koo said, “It can sometimes happen that our shortcomings become visible. We will prize our shareholders and work harder if they communicate with us through the various channels for shareholder participation.”

Hankyoreh CEO Jung Young-mu described the newspaper as a “company where there is no ‘majority shareholder’ and all of our 60,000 shareholders are family.”

“We hope they will criticize and offer advice to the Hankyoreh in a family spirit,” Jung added.

By Bang Jun-ho, staff reporter

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

 

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