The ''Kyunghyang Shinmun'' or ''Kyonghyang Sinmun'' is a major daily
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, spor ...
published in
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 ...
. It is based in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...
. The name literally means ''
Urbi et Orbi Daily News''.
["Who is the ''Kyunghyang Shinmun'' (''Kyunghyang Daily News'')"](_blank)
''Kyunghyang Shinmun'' website (English). Retrieved 2011-10-06.
History
''Kyunghyang Shinmun'' was founded in 1946 by the Catholic Church,
which explains its name. Before the Korean War, it was edited by Fr. Peter Ryang, a refugee from the North, and its circulation was 100,000. ''Kyunghyang Shinmun'' was temporarily closed down in May 1959 by the
Rhee administration on grounds of having printed "false editorials",
[ (fee required for full article).] but revived after the pro-democracy
April Revolution of 1960.
As of today, the newspaper is no longer associated with the Catholic Church.
In 1974, ''Kyunghyang Shinmun'' joined forces with
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC; ) is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. ''Munhwa'' is the Sino-Korean word for "culture". Its flagship terrestrial television station MBC TV broadcasts as channel 11.
...
(MBC), thus forming the new Munhwa Broadcasting-Kyunghyang Shinmun Company. The partnership lasted until 1981, when the two companies were separated due to the Basic Press Act.
It later came to be owned by the
Hanwha ''
chaebol
A chaebol (, ; ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group whose power over the group often exc ...
'' in 1990,
but Hanwha relinquished its control of the newspaper after the
1997 Asian financial crisis
The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...
, at the same time as Hanhwa's competitor
Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate (" chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups:
* Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested
** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company
** Hyundai A ...
gave up its own daily, the ''
Munhwa Ilbo
''Munhwa Ilbo'' is a daily newspaper in South Korea. It was established in August 1990, and printed its first issue on 1 November 1991.
History
''Munhwa Ilbo'' was formerly owned by the Hyundai; however, Hyundai relinquished their control of ...
''.
Current operations
In 1998, ''Kyunghyang Shinmun'' became an independent newspaper with employee ownership.
The CEO is elected by the employees; the editor-in-chief, though appointed by the CEO, must be approved by a majority of the journalist-employees.
The newspaper employs 600 people, including 240 journalists and maintains foreign bureaus in Washington, D.C., Tokyo and Beijing. It reports 1.3 million daily visitors to its website and 6.2 million daily page-views. The company also publishes a daily sports newspaper (''Sports Kyunghyang''), a weekly news magazine (''The Jugan Kyunghyang'') and a monthly lifestyle magazine for women (''The Lady Kyunghyang'').
''
The Hankyoreh'' and ''Kyunghyang Shinmun'' are generally considered "liberal" or "moderate progressive".
See also
*
List of newspapers in South Korea
References
External links
Official site
Official site
{{Authority control
Korean-language newspapers
Centrist newspapers
Liberal media in South Korea
Mass media in Seoul
Newspapers published in South Korea
Publications established in 1946