Once I first started contributing to The Korea Occasions within the late Nineteen Nineties, I might by no means have imagined the place that journey would take me. On the time, I used to be instructing full-time and writing within the evenings. I despatched in my first “Ideas of the Occasions” column in 1998, uncertain whether or not anybody would even discover. To my shock, it ran a couple of weeks later. Seeing my byline in print for the primary time was a thrill I’ll always remember.
My early columns have been easy reflections on life in Korea — cross-cultural moments, small observations and classes realized as an expatriate trainer dwelling in a rustic that had develop into dwelling. Readers often wrote letters in response, some difficult my views, others providing encouragement. Their suggestions gave me a way of connection to the broader group of English readers in Korea.
An illustration of a Korea Occasions reporter, revealed in The Korea Occasions Nov. 1, 1972. Korea Occasions Archive
Writing for The Korea Occasions was by no means informal or incidental; it was an opportunity to put in writing with function, to check my voice and see the place the phrases may lead. Every column turned an experiment in expression — an train in readability, empathy and remark. By way of these items, I realized the rhythm of deadlines, the load of revision and the quiet satisfaction of seeing concepts take form in print. It was there, on these pages, that I started to know what writing really meant to me.
By 2000, I used to be reviewing books for the paper, which opened one other door — one which led me into function writing. That summer season, I used to be given the chance to cowl a sequence of Korean Struggle commemorative occasions marking the fiftieth anniversary of the battle. It was an task that carried each weight and privilege. I met veterans who had returned to the peninsula for the primary time because the 1953 Korean Armistice Settlement — males who nonetheless carried reminiscences that phrases might scarcely seize. I wrote tales that attempted, nevertheless imperfectly, to honor their sacrifices. These articles stay among the many most significant items I’ve ever written.
The Korea Occasions workplace, revealed in The Korea Occasions Nov. 1, 1994. Korea Occasions Archive
That very same yr, The Korea Occasions turned 50 — a milestone few establishments obtain, particularly one born within the ashes of battle. Based in 1950, when the Korean Peninsula was being torn aside, the newspaper had grown alongside the nation itself. It chronicled Korea’s rebirth, its struggles for democracy and its emergence as a contemporary powerhouse. To me, the paper was greater than a newspaper; it was a mirror reflecting each Korea’s progress and the various voices that had made it their dwelling.
On Nov. 1, 2000, I used to be lucky to attend the newspaper’s fiftieth anniversary celebration at Sejong Middle for the Performing Arts in Seoul. There I used to be — the unintentional journalist — feeling a part of historical past. The night was electrical. The corridor stuffed early with diplomats, enterprise leaders, politicians, editors, columnists, reporters and well-wishers.
The spotlight of the night was an look by President Kim Dae-jung. When he spoke, he recalled his years below home arrest and credited The Korea Occasions for serving to him be taught English and keep related to the world at a time when he was bodily remoted. His remarks carried each gratitude and symbolism: The very publication that had as soon as served as his personal tutor had now develop into a nationwide establishment, celebrating 50 years of bridging Korea with the worldwide group.
As he stepped down from the stage, shaking arms alongside the aisle, I discovered myself amongst these ready in line. For a couple of seconds, as he clasped my hand and nodded, I felt the enormity of the second. It wasn’t nearly assembly a president or a Nobel laureate — it was about witnessing the dwelling historical past of Korea’s journey. I used to be each humbled and honored.
Then President Kim Dae-jung speaks throughout an interview, revealed in The Korea Occasions Nov. 1, 2000. Korea Occasions Archive
Two years later, that reminiscence took on deeper that means. One afternoon, I acquired a cellphone name from a person who launched himself as one in every of Kim’s secretaries. He stated the president wished to thank me for my articles and requested to satisfy at a espresso store in downtown Seoul. I used to be astonished. Once we met, he offered me with a number of books and a presidential watch — items from Kim Dae-jung himself. The secretary defined that the president wished me to know he appreciated my writing and the attitude it supplied.
That second — quiet, sudden and deeply transferring — stays one of many proudest of my life.
An editorial cartoon marks the twentieth anniversary of The Korea Occasions, revealed Nov. 1, 1970. Korea Occasions Archive
Once I consider The Korea Occasions at 50, I feel not solely of the establishment however of the generations of journalists who carried ahead its mission of connecting Korea with the world. Time has a approach of unveiling what moments really matter, and that night time at Sejong Middle was one in every of them. I didn’t understand it then, nevertheless it marked a turning level. Writing was now not one thing I merely did — it turned who I used to be. The teachings I realized on the paper — self-discipline, empathy and the quiet energy of phrases — have adopted me into every part I’ve written since.
And now, 25 years later, I discover myself writing as soon as once more for The Korea Occasions, this time to have fun its seventy fifth anniversary. The world has modified past recognition since that night in 2000: The newsroom has gone digital, tales break in actual time, and readers span continents with a single click on. But the paper’s function — and my gratitude — stay unchanged. For me, The Korea Occasions has at all times been greater than a publication; it’s a companion on the lengthy street of writing, reminding me that phrases nonetheless have the facility to attach, to make clear and to endure.
A person carries newspapers in entrance of the Korea Occasions constructing in central Seoul, revealed in The Korea Occasions Nov. 1, 1975. Korea Occasions Archive
As I look again on that unforgettable night time and all that adopted, one phrase involves thoughts: gratitude. Gratitude for the alternatives, for the mentors and mates I met alongside the best way, and for the newspaper that opened the door to a lifetime of writing.
Blissful seventy fifth anniversary to The Korea Occasions. And thanks — for every part.
Jeffrey Miller is the writer of a number of novels, together with “Struggle Stays,” a narrative concerning the early days of the Korean Struggle, and “No Approach Out,” a thriller set in Seoul in 1990.
