Seoul Shinmun
 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Seoul Newspaper Co., Ltd. |
| Founder(s) | Ernest Bethell |
| Founded | 18 July 1904 (original) |
| Language | Korean |
| Ceased publication | 28 August 1910 (Korea Daily News), 10 November 1945 (Daily News) |
| Relaunched | 23 November 1945 (current name) |
| Headquarters | Seoul, South Korea |
| Circulation | 780,000 |
| Website | www |
| Seoul Shinmun | |
| Hangul | |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 서울新聞 |
| Revised Romanization | Seoul Shinmun |
| McCune–Reischauer | Sŏul Shinmun |
Seoul Shinmun (Korean: 서울신문; lit. Seoul Newspaper) is the oldest daily newspaper in South Korea, with more than a century of publication. Its was first published as the Korea Times (not to be confused with the later The Korea Times) on 18 July 1904. Soon afterwards, it changed its name to the Korea Daily News (Daehan Mail Shinbo). It was renamed Maeil Sinbo (Daily News) in August 1910.
Circulation is an estimated 780,000 issues a day.
History
Korea Times and Korea Daily News
In 1904, British journalists Ernest Bethell and Thomas Cowen[1] were sent to Korea to report for the British newspaper Daily Chronicle.[2] Around this time, Japan was stepping up its encroachment into Korean sovereignty. After being fired from the paper,[1] Bethell and Cowen began planning to publish their own paper tentatively called the Korea Times.[1] However, Cowen was secretly supportive of Japan, and unbenownst to Bethell, warned the Japanese government of the paper's founding.[1]
The pair,[1] along with Korean independence activist Yang Gi-tak, published the first issue of the Korea Times, (concurrently published in Korean as Daehan Maeil Sinbo; 대한매일신보; 大韓每日申報), on 18 July 1904.[2][1] The issue had 6 pages, with two in Korean (in mixed script) and four in English.[3] Shortly afterwards, Cowen quit the paper and left to Japan, and the paper changed its name to the Korea Daily News.[1]
How exactly the newspaper was financed is not known. Emperor Gojong did finance Bethell by transferring funds through Antoinette Sontag, owner of the Sontag Hotel. Some theorized that Bethell was funded by the Russian Empire, Japan's rivals for Korean sovereignty, although Bethell dismissed this idea. Funding was still insufficient; in March 1905, printing of the paper was suspended as he went to Japan to buy a printer and to possibly raise money. By August, printing resumed,[1] this time with separate Korean and English editions.[3]
After Korea was forced to sign the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905 in November, Japanese control over the peninsula increased. Three days after the signing of the treaty, Chang Chi-yŏn wrote an editorial in the paper (〈시일야방성대곡〉; lit. "Today, I Wail Bitterly") that has been described as the best editorial in Korean newspaper history. The editorial was translated into English, and was republished by the English-language newspaper Japan Chronicle.[2]
Newspapers were then censored by the Japanese Resident-General of Korea. Bethell, as a British citizen, was able to dodge Japanese censorship and continue publishing newspapers.[2] However, he was frequently harrassed by the Japanese.[1] According to Frederick Arthur MacKenzie:
The Japanese were making his life as uncomfortable as they possibly could, and were doing everything to obstruct his work. His mail was constantly tampered with; his servants were threatened or arrested on various excuses, and his household was subjected to the closest espionage. He displayed surprising tenacity, and held on month after month without showing any sign of yielding.[1]
In May 1907, he established a pure-Hangul version of the newspaper, alongside the original version that was written in both Hanja and Hangul.[2] By around September 1907, total circulation of the various language versions of the paper reached 10,000 copies,[3][2] more than all other newspapers combined at the time.[2]
In 1907, the Japanese published the Newspaper Act, which was partially targeted at the paper, placed various restrictions on Koreans purchasing the newspaper.[3] Bethell was arrested and tried by the British twice, by request of the Japanese government.[1][2][3] He transferred ownership of the paper to his assistant editor Arthur Marnham, who carried on reporting critically of Japan.[1] Bethell eventually won his second trial at the British Supreme Court for China in December 1908, and defiantly immediately returned to continue reporting.[1] However, he died several months afterwards, likely due to his unhealthy lifestyle[1] and stress from his imprisonments.[2] His last words were reportedly "I might die, but let the Korea Daily News remain to save Koreans".[2]
Maeil Sinbo
On 14 June 1910,[3] Marnham folded under joint British and Japanese pressure,[1] secretly sold the newspaper to former employee Lee Jang-hoon (이장훈; 李章薰) for 40,000 won worth of gold,[3] and left the country.[1] The 14 June, 1408th issue reflects this, with Lee's name given as editor.[3] The paper became strictly controlled by Japan. It changed its name to Maeil Sinbo (매일신보; 每日申報) on 30 August 1910.[1] Yang resigned and denounced the paper publicly as a propaganda piece.[3]
In the 1910s, it was one of the only Korean-language newspapers allowed in the country. Despite mostly publishing along Japanese lines, it also served as a medium for Korean-language literature, and published pieces from many famous Korean writers.[4]
The newspaper then became subordinated to the Japanese-language paper Keijō nippō, and its offices were moved into that paper's building.[4] It was reorganized into a number of different departments in 1920. In 1938, it was expanded to contain eight pages instead of four.[4] On 29 April 1938, it became independent from the Keijō and changed a character in its name (申 to 新; same pronunciation in Korean).[4]
Seoul Shinmun
Korea was liberated in August 1945. The Maeil Sinbo chairman Lee Seong-geun (이성근) resigned, and the employees took over operation of the paper. The U.S. military arrived on 2 October 1945, and took control of it.[4] However, it faced pushback from the employees,[5] resulting in the paper being suspended in 10 November 1945.[3][5] It was reorganized and resumed publication on 23 November 1945 as Seoul Shinmun.[3][4][5] Its first president was Oh Se-chang (오세창; 吳世昌).[4][5]
In 15 August 1949, the paper and others were restricted to only four pages per issue.[5] The paper's publication froze during the Korean War. A two-page successor paper, called Jinjung Shinmun (진중신문; 陣中新聞) began publication in April 1951, and was the only operating newspaper service in the city at the time. Its facilities were once destroyed, but were rebuilt, and the paper continued publishing.[5]
On October 18, 1956, the paper named its pure Hangul edition the Seoul Shinmun. It was mostly a transliteration of the mixed-script main paper, and ceased publication within a year.[5]
On March 23, 1959, it changed its numbering system to effectively cut out the Maeil Sinbo portion of its history, by making its first Seoul Shinmun issue as No. 1, instead of its previous numbering No. 13738.[5] During the 1960 April Revolution, a fire occurred in the building, and many of its rare records and materials were lost.[5] The paper encountered then financial difficulties, and took a hiatus beginning on May 9 of the following year. However, after the May 16 coup of 1961, it began receiving support from the government, and resumed publication on December 22 of that year, publishing 36 pages per week in the evenings.[5]
From December 2, 1980, it began publishing in the morning again. It began using computerized typesetting in January 1985, and moved to a larger office at Taepyeongno, Jung District, Seoul. It changed to horizontal type in October 1996.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Neff, Robert (2 May 2010). "UK journalist Bethell established newspapers in 1904". The Korea Times. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Han, Jeon (June 2019). "Fighting Injustice with the Pen". www.kocis.go.kr. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "대한매일신보(大韓每日申報)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g "매일신보". 우리역사. National Institute of Korean History. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "서울신문(서울新聞)". encykorea.aks.ac.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 26 January 2024.
External links
- Official website
(in Korean)