The Kwanhun Club, established in 1956, was an

organization An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...

based in the

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its east ...

. The club's official goals were to promote a better understanding of the principles of

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

and to encourage the development of the

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

through the adoption of responsible

journalistic Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

principles by

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

s. Kwanhun Club started out as a small group of young

front-line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an armed force's personnel and equipment, usually referring to land forces. When a front (an intentional or unint ...

journalists trying to educate their colleagues about American journalistic viewpoints and techniques. The group soon grew into a national movement as it swiftly expanded in numbers and influence. These journalists were trying to introduce novel techniques into the Korean newspaper industry and by December 1959 the club had successfully recruited forty-seven members. These members represented leading journalists from

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

's most esteemed newspapers and publishers. The club held regular meetings where they discussed the role of the media in society and began publishing featured articles on the journalistic profession. American officials and journalists were invited to speak at club meetings about the importance of

objective Objective may refer to: * Objective (optics), an element in a camera or microscope * ''The Objective'', a 2008 science fiction horror film * Objective pronoun, a personal pronoun that is used as a grammatical object * Objective Productions, a Brit ...

reporting, the meaning of the

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...

, and other corresponding topics. Korean reporters also visited the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in order to better understand the culture of

American media Mass media in the United States consist of several types of media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and web sites. The U.S. also has a strong music industry. New York City, Manhattan in particular, and to a lesser extent ...

and gain insight on how to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to transmit information to a wider audience.Kwanhun kullop sasimnyonsa, 15-20. Retrieved from http://www.kwanhun.com/ Within a short period of time, this new generation of South Korean writers and publishers successfully made free press a widely sought after ideal within the journalistic community. As a result, freedom of the press has become commonplace as many believe

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

would cease to exist without it. In this way, the Kwanhun club continues to have great influence to this day.

Citation

*Introduction to Kwanhun Club. Retrieved from http://www.kwanhun.com/ *Founding Members. Retrieved from http://www.kwanhun.com/ *What they do. Retrieved from http://www.kwanhun.com/ *Kwanhun kullop sasimnyonsa, 15–20. Retrieved from http://www.kwanhun.com/ *Brazinsky, Gregg. National Building in South Korea, (2007), Korea Foundation, Korea

Notes

{{reflist Clubs and societies in South Korea Professional associations based in South Korea Journalism organizations