KOREA FOUNDATION

Park Hyang-joo (hereafter, presider): Koreana was launched in 1987, which was quite early compared to other public diplomacy projects of the KF. What was the background of its early launch?

Yoon Keum-jin: Koreana was launched by the International Cultural Society of Korea (ICSK), the predecessor of the KF. In 1991, the KF was established and took over the magazine from the ICSK. In the beginning, the KF concentrated its efforts on locating Korean artifacts in foreign museums and correcting wrong information about them. The need to keep up such an endeavor and publicize Korean art properly was the driving force behind the uninterrupted publication of Koreana.

Presider: At the time of inauguration, Koreana was published only in English. During the past 30 years, it has steadily increased its foreign language editions. With the online release of the Vietnamese edition, it is now offered in 10 languages. Is there a special reason for this expansion?

Yoon: Before deciding on the publication of new language editions, we surveyed populations and the needs of readers by languages. We also considered requests from institutions abroad. From 2005 on, with its business growth, the KF expanded its overseas network, setting up regional offices in non-English-speaking countries and gaining momentum for Koreana’s debut in other languages.

Presider: What troubled you most as Koreana staff when starting a new language edition?

Ha Ho-seon: I joined in the launch of the French edition. While working through the whole process of managing the timeline, summarizing feedback, proofreading, and overseeing printing and advertising, I felt an enormous sense of responsibility. The most difficult part was finding translators and copy editors and determining the right places to distribute the new edition. We made 2,500 copies of the inaugural issue, and we contacted Korean diplomatic missions overseas one by one to send them out. We worked out a list of recipients without the help of any computer, let alone emails. As each of us did it all by memory, we would often mistakenly register the same names and addresses multiple times.
Jang Eun-young: I experienced similar difficulties as I worked on the Arabic edition. Unlike most other languages, the Arabic alphabet is written from right to left, and I had to pay utmost attention to checking if all the words were scribed accurately. I had to proofread the articles again and again, up to the last minute.

Presider: Without such devoted effort from the staff, I don’t think Koreana could have grown during the past three decades. What changes or improvements have you seen over the years in terms of design or content?

Jang: To enhance the readability of the magazine, the typeface has changed. The cover used to be photographs but has gradually been replaced by paintings. The content has shifted from traditional culture to modern life.
Han Seo-eun: The price of the magazine was kept at KRW 4,500 (approximately USD 4) per issue for over a score of years but has gone up to KRW 6,000 (about USD 5.40). The price hike reflected the continuous quality improvement and value increase of Koreana. In addition, the Vietnamese edition is evidence of the importance of change. It was launched in 2014 in answer to the explosive growth of Vietnamese students majoring in Korean Language. It is the only edition offered online without a print edition.
Park Mi-sook: As a 30-year-old magazine, Koreana has its own history and significance. Although many periodicals are shedding their print form and going online, Koreana needs to find a way to upgrade itself while maintaining the traditional spirit and symbolism of print media.

Presider: Various ways of complementing the print magazine are under discussion, and one such attempt is linking videos to its webzine. We expect our readers to welcome upcoming changes to make Koreana better. Thank you all for joining us today.