Participants during the World Journalists Conference being held in Seoul, South Korea.
Seoul: Niche reporting from local cities and the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in the media industry were the topics of discussion as journalists from 48 countries, including Qatar, came together in Seoul, yesterday.
The week-long World Journalists Conference is celebrating its 11th anniversary this year.
Hosted by the Journalists Association of Korea (JAK) in collaboration with Korea Press Foundation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the conference is being held in-person for the first-time after the pandemic. During COVID-19 it was organised online.
The conference was officially inaugurated by Deputy Foreign Minister of Korea Choi Young Sam who spoke on Korea’s vision for Global Pivotal State Initiative that seeks to take on more active role in promoting freedom, peace and prosperity.
The minister assured the gathered media personnel, during his statement, that if Korea were elected as a member of the UN Security Council next year, it will do its best to promote international peace and security.
Under the theme Leadership in the Digital Transformation Era and the Role of Journalism for Regional Development, the reporters, correspondents and editors from India, Serbia, Indonesia, Kuwait, and Oman among others, discussed the future of journalism and world peace.
The first session of the conference included a discussion on Challenge of Journalism for the Regional Development where speakers – Director of Media and Public Affairs of Sierra Leone Mohamed Asmieu BAH; EL Pais journalist Pablo Leon; Bangkok Post news reporter from Thailand Poramet Tangsathaporn, and Busan Ilbo journalists from Korea Kim Jun Yong and Lee Sang Bae touched upon various challenges the media is facing.
President of Gwangju-Jeonnam Journalists Association Maeng Dae Hwan spoke on the role of journalism in fostering regional co-prosperity.
Stressing the importance of local journalism, Busan Ilbo journalists shared their experience of opening a laundromat in Sanbok Road, a hillside village in Busan, to get in-depth community stories from the elderly residents there. “With 24 newspaper articles, and many YouTube videos that got over 50 million views, we connected with our audience,” said Kim Jun Yong.
The second session of the conference, saw Zhou Ning, deputy chief editor of New Media Centre at Xinhua News Agency; Thais Chaigne, journalist at France 24; Lee Ga Hyeok, journalist at JTBC, Korea; Ryu Hyun Jung, head of Digital Planning at Chosun Ilbo, Korea; and Anupa Kurian Murshed, senior digital content planning editor at Gulf News, UAE, discuss leadership in the digital transformation era and the future of journalism. ChatGPT and deepfakes were the highlight of this session which was tackled by all the speakers.
The conference to be held until April 29, will also include visits to major domestic cities such as Seoul, Busan, Incheon, and Suwon, as well as the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to learn about traditional Korean culture and the characteristics of each region.
Since the first World Journalists Conference in 2013, the JAK has invited journalists from all over the world to Korea to discuss various topics related to the field of journalism.
