''Rimjingang'' (or Rimjin-gang) is a North Korean magazine published by Asia Press which is based in
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
About
In 2007, Asia Press began publishing a magazine entitled ''Rimjin-gang: News from Inside North Korea'' in
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
** ...
and
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
. It was started by a Japanese and Korean co-joint editorial group, a chief editor and Japanese journalist, Jiro Ishimaru, and a Korean representative editor, Choi Jin I, author and North Korean defector.
''Rimjingang'' secretly operates with journalists and reporters hidden within
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
. The magazine aims to bring outside news to the people of North Korea. The reporters, North Korean civilians and defectors who receive media training in China from the Asia Press North Korea reporting team, are able to use techniques such as hidden cameras to create their articles. Reporters learn journalistic principles as well as personal computer skills.
After the fourth issue of the Korean edition was released, Choi Jin I left the group and began releasing her own periodical called ''Imjingang'' in the Korean language in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
in April 2009.
One of the major reasons for the "divergence" was said to be that ''Imjingang'' intended to be rather a communication tool for defectors and North Koreans while ''Rimjingang'' aspires to be a project purely for journalistic activities and to foster journalists and journalism in North Korea. Since then, Choi Jin I has made ''Imjingang'' a completely independent magazine, which is no longer connected with Asia Press. ''Rimjingang'', published in Japanese/English, in Japan and ''Imjingang'' published in South Korea are no longer related.
Rimjingang's reports are smuggled out of North Korea via China and printed in Japan. Their pictures and footage have been delivered to major newspapers and magazines all over the world, such as ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'', ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'', ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', and the ''
Japan Times
''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo.
History
''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
''. ''Rimjingangs reports were quoted by ''the New York Times'' and ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' magazine. For TV, it was aired on various stations such as
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...
(Arabic Satellite), ABC (Australia), TBS and TV-Asahi (Japan), PBS (United States), etc.
In 2010, the magazine published a video of a woman foraging for food in North Korea which received worldwide attention.
Currently, the Japanese edition of the magazine is published periodically. In October 2010, ''Rimjingang'' released its first English hardcover edition.
, which crosses the demilitarized zone and flows into South Korea from the North. One of the magazine's North Korean journalists chose this name to symbolize sending the thoughts of the North Korean people to their brothers and sisters in the South.
Editors include Jiro Ishimaru and Lee Jinsu. They also have reporters working inside North Korea under assumed names, including Kim Dong Cheol, Lee Song Hui, Paek Hyang, Shim Ui Chun, Chang Jeong Gil, Lee Jun, Kae Myung Bin, and Gu Gwang Ho.