＂Disappearing Overseas Korean Media Historical Archives, Government and National Assembly Must Step Up to Protect Them

"Disappearing Overseas Korean Media Historical Archives, Government and National Assembly Must Step Up to Protect Them: KO YONG-CHUL Reporter / Updated : 2026-11-15 10:42:57

"World Korean Journalists Association urges the establishment of a joint archiving and AI platform.Decreasing from around 360 outlets in 2022 to about 200 today, urgent preservation of accumulated articles, photos, and video records is needed.

The World Korean Journalists Association (Chairman Kim Myung-gon) and the Overseas Korean Newspaper & Broadcasting Editors Association (Chairman Ro Chang-hyeon) have launched a national petition campaign with the National Assembly to institutionalize a digital database (DB) for overseas Korean history records. They are strongly urging active government and parliamentary support to preserve the historical materials of overseas Korean media.

They argue that as records such as newspapers, photos, articles, and videos produced by Korean media worldwide face the risk of disappearing, establishing a digital archiving and artificial intelligence (AI)-based joint platform is urgent.

During the '2026 Autumn Overseas Korean Journalists Associated International Symposium' held from October 26 to 30 across Seoul, Pocheon in Gyeonggi Province, Buyeo in South Chungcheong Province, and Gangjin in South Jeolla Province, the two organizations raised the necessity of establishing a preservation and support system for overseas media records.

Held under the theme "History and Epochal Mission of Overseas Korean Media," the slogan of the symposium is "One Voice, a Shared Future." Through academic discussions, member exchanges, regular general meetings, and regional field reporting, they are exploring the role and future of overseas media.

Chairman Kim Myung-gon of the World Korean Journalists Association pointed out that overseas Korean media outlets have shrunk from about 360 in 2022 to approximately 200 today. He emphasized that as media closures and operational difficulties continue, long-accumulated records such as newspapers, photos, and videos are at risk of being discarded or lost.

He noted that if materials documenting the immigration history, independence movement, settlement process, and exchanges with local societies of the overseas Korean community are not systematically preserved, vital historical records could vanish. To prevent this, he stressed the need to digitize overseas media records and build an AI-based joint platform that multiple outlets can utilize together. The initiative aims to enhance the utility of these records not only for preservation but also for research, education, and journalism fields through data search, translation, article and photo database establishment, and digital archive operation.

To achieve this, they proposed forming a promotion committee involving the Korea Press Foundation, the Overseas Koreans Agency (OKA), the overseas media sector, academia, and information technology (IT) experts, alongside establishing a five-year plan with phased goals and stable financial support measures. They also stated that mechanisms to protect editorial independence and copyright must be put in place during the support process.

Emphasizing that overseas media serve as public assets that record the history and identity of the overseas Korean community beyond mere news delivery channels, the two organizations urged that the preservation of related records should not be left to individual media outlets, but resolved through national-level support and cooperation.