In the rhythm of Journalism (Dong-A News Agency)

Dong-A News Agency, one of our last few stops for the trip, is the main headquarters of Dong-A Ilbo, one of the leading newspapers in Korea. Established in 1920, Dong-A Ilbo has reached a readership of over 2 million and the number is continually rising. Like most print news agencies around the world, Mr Suh I-Suhk, the General Manager of the Reder Service Team at Dong-A News Agency, lamented that there have been a steady drop in a number of readers going for print media. Instead, many are turning to online sources for their news updates. Dong-A News Agency currently has a free online version of their Dong-A Ilbo, but is thinking of charging their readers in the coming years.

When we first entered the building, we were brought to a room where Mr Suh I-Suhk,  briefed us on what to expect during the tour and a general rundown of the whole agency. Thanks to Mr Douglas, who was such a wonderful and excellent interpreter, that we were enthralled with all the things that greeted us at the newsroom. With the many 'ooohs' and 'ahhhs' - and some occasionally gasps and shrieks (yup! seeing posters of our Korean idols definitely made some of us go ga-ga somewhat) - it was a visit well worth the wait.

Our tour then officially started, and we were led to the newsroom where we were filled in on the process of printing a newspaper. The room was divided in four sections – Sports, Education and Welfare, Hallyu (culture and trend) and lastly the International section.  We also noticed that the agency monitors other forms of media, such as TV channels and other newspapers, so as to keep up with their competitors and to maintain their position on top.

Our next stop was the editing room, where as its name suggests, all the editing is done. Edits are usually made in red, and pictures are looked over to make sure they are the best of the lot. Like what Mr Suh told us, a lot of teamwork is required to produce just one newspaper.

Mr Lim Hyun Taek, chief of the editing support team then showed us a powerpoint presentation, explaining how the newspaper was designed and printed. With a few clicks of the mouse combined with his experience in this area, Mr lim even designed and printed a page just for us!

Following that, 15 of us were chosen to visit a studio in the building, and were separated from the rest. The best part? The 15 of us are the first ones, outside of the agency to step into this studio. How cool is that!

The Channel A Studio is used to record their daily news programs and other live broadcasts. There are three multi vision screens in the studio used to broadcast live footages from the area outside the building. This way, events such as parades and protests can be filmed and broadcasted easily. 

Next up, we were brought to an open studio. An open studio is just like any other studio in the building, except that it is enclosed in glass, and the public can view the recording from outside. There are also speakers outside the building for the public to hear what is going on.

We then rejoined the rest of our friends and had a chat session with two reporters from the agency. The first was Ms Sue Jeon who works with the entertainment section and covering the Hallyu wave. Though she is just fresh out of university and had only been working there for about a year, she had many interesting insights to share, and we certainly benefited a lot from her. The other was Mr James Huh, who has been working at the agency for a massive 16 years! Questions were fast and furious, ranging from journalists' work ethics and professionalism to freedom of speech and censorship.

In all, our visit to Dong-A News Agency was very informative, and we learnt so much more about journalism. The people working there were very friendly, and even gave us a whole stack of drama posters as a parting gift. Looks like I have one more poster to add to my wall! 

Done by: KIM2CHI

Kimberly Ho

Kimberly Fong

Carmen Chia

Kelly-Angel Paulose

Lulu Tay Xin Yi

Pheobe Low