The Words of the Elder Family
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The Words of the Elder Family |
At
the anniversary reception, Pres. C. H. Kwak celebrates with several
staff members.
The first anniversary of the Segye Ilbo was February 1, 1990.
In 1987, with President Roh's declaration of greater democracy and freedom, the number of newspapers in Korea doubled. Established newspapers have increased their page numbers to make things difficult for the newcomers. Most new papers don't have the advertising base to keep up with the established papers. Therefore, many new papers are struggling to even keep going in 1990. There are nine national dailies, five in the morning and four in the evening. In my opinion, there is no way that all nine national dailies are going to survive in Korea. These papers will be facing some very hard financial questions in the near future.
Our vision for ourselves, however, is that we will always be a national newspaper. We want to bring Father's point of view into every home in this country on a daily basis. This paper is a powerful tool for True Parents to change this nation into God's country.
On the occasion of the first anniversary of the Segye Ilbo, I would like to share with you some of the things I have felt in the past year about our newspaper and our True Parents' providence here in Korea.
I first came to Korea in 1978, at the time when Father chose one representative from six countries to come to Korea to work in the interfaith movement here. I was chosen to be the person who came from the United States. I did that for about three years and, in early 1981, that mission developed into a new phase whereby all of us were given new tasks. Around that time I will be sending articles into the News World in New York. I remember when my first article was published -- it was my beginning in the journalism field. In early 1982 I was sitting in Chungpadong Church after the service when Dr. Bo Hi Pak came up and asked me to become a full-time correspondent for the News World. Later, he asked me to go to Washington, DC and join The Washington Times. I worked there for a year as a correspondent to the State Department, until The Washington Times assigned me as their Tokyo Bureau Chief. Next I worked with the Sekai Nippo for two years. When the Segye Ilbo started up, I was asked to come here and be a part of it.
The
February 1, 1990 edition of the Segye Ilbo.
I have been here in Korea for over six years, and now feel pretty familiar with Korean society. I can see how Korea has been prepared by God for thousands of years to receive the Messiah. I joined the Church in 1974, making me a 16-year member, and having worked with Koreans who haven't even heard the Principle or accepted True Parents, I can see they are far ahead of me in many aspect: of heavenly tradition. The idea of living for others is a part of a Korean's daily life. The concept of attendance often seems so foreign when we first hear it, but for Korean people it is part of their daily life, for it is the way they treat their parents, their grandparents and their relatives. The word attendance is not peculiar to the Unification Church. Although Satan is working very hard to try to break down this base to receive True Parents in Korea, there is still a very firm foundation here.
Right now we don't have a nation that shows how the national level of God's word should be practiced. After living here for so many years, it is clear to me that God has prepared Korea to show the world how to live heavenly tradition on the national level. It is the only country where this could be done at this point in world history. The problem is that the Korean people must start recognizing and accepting True Parents. Satan has been working hard to prevent them from doing that, but the day is going to come when they will. Just like the Berlin Wall coming down overnight, I expect that someday soon Korea is going to make some major progress in this area.
This newspaper is the very tool bringing that about. It must happen quickly because the foundation that God prepared is beginning to crumble. The drug problem here is getting worse, though nothing when compared to the United States. The family tradition is breaking down with each passing generation, with children less and less accustomed to attending their parents and grandparents.
Tim
Elder translating for Segye Ilbo senior officer Mr. Chun Kyun Kim.
We have to work quickly to restore this country. And when it is restored, it will be the internal center of the world. I deeply believe that after living here and getting a sense of what is involved here. Korea's role will be to show the world the heavenly tradition on the national level. When that happens, each country in the world will need to have some connection with Korea. I think every nation has some aspect that will connect it to Korea, forming a heartistic mutual interest. Until now Korea has been a very conservative country. It used to be called the "Hermit Kingdom." (North Korea is still very much a hermit kingdom.) That is why it has been able to survive China, Japan and the Soviet Union invading it so many times and still maintain a state of cultural identity -- it was so xenophobic.
That kind of position helped Korea to receive the Messiah, and once the Messiah comes, things will have to reverse themselves. Korea's new responsibility is to prepare to live the heavenly tradition and testify to this tradition throughout the world. To do that, it has to become much more international. It is hard for a country to suddenly stop and go in the opposite direction, but the Segye Ilbo will help Koreans do that. Our task begins with the education of the professional journalists, who must change before the leaders can change. When the leaders change, then the whole country will be affected.
So in effect, we are not just trying to create another newspaper, but we are doing a major task in the restoration of Korea. First we have to establish the heavenly tradition here, and then multiply it throughout the world, just as God starts with a central figure and works through that person to restore all individuals.
In addition, the Segye Ilbo is not targeting a specific audience in Korea, but trying to communicate with every possible reader. We are different from The Washington Times, which started out in a vacuum, with no other conservative paper in town. It was conceived with the very clear idea to be a conservative voice in the capital. Many people could appreciate that need, especially in the Reagan administration. But here we are dealing with a situation where there are six existing papers, and four that are starting up. Most people's reaction is, "Why do we need another newspaper?" We are reaching out to the entire nation.
As with The Washington Times, we have a large professional staff, with all but eight of us not belonging to the Unification Church. So the daily makeup of the paper is basically left up to the professionals that we have hired. Rev: Kwak, President of Segye Ilbo, is trying to educate them, but it is not an easy task.
When Rev. Kwak said this newspaper was meant to be the "window on the world" for the Korean people, the professionals who were putting the new paper together, said "Well, he can say what he wants to, but he put us in charge, and we are going to put together the best newspaper that we know how, according to what our experience has taught us. He is an amateur; we will convince him in six months that our way is best." However, after a year, Rev. Kwak delivered a speech to all the editors and reporters, repeating the same thing: "This year, we've got to expand the international news." That was a pretty big shock to them, because they realized Rev. Kwak was more stubborn than they had anticipated. Then they understood perhaps they should start accommodating some of his interests and vision if they wanted to continue to work with him harmoniously.
So, we have reached our first year anniversary. The Segye Ilbo anniversary celebration just included our own staff and members, but many political leaders, including President Roh, sent congratulatory potted plants. Our February 1st edition also carried our first exclusive interview with President Roh. We brought together a cross-section of our readership -- housewives, students, workers, farmers -- to meet with the President for about 40 minutes to ask questions.
One other significant development is that the Segye Ilbo has definitely been able to overcome the misconception by the Korean public of being a "Moonie" paper. Koreans now understand us to be a bonafide, substantial paper. People are also impressed when they meet our Western and Japanese members distributing the paper -- they are moved by their sincerity, politeness and precision. This helps to support our claim to being a "window to the world."