Hansŏng sunbo
 The inaugural issue (October 31, 1883) | |
| Founder(s) | Park Yung-hyo |
|---|---|
| Founded | October 31, 1883 |
| Language | Classical Chinese |
| Ceased publication | December 1884 |
| Headquarters | Jeo-dong,Seoul |
| Country | Joseon |
| Readership | Public and private |
| Hansŏng sunbo | |
| Hangul | 한성순보 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Hanseong sunbo |
| McCune–Reischauer | Hansŏng sunbo |
Hansŏng sunbo(Korean:한성순보;Hanja:Hán thành tuần báo) was the first modern native Korean newspaper. It was published inSeoul(then calledHanseong),Joseonfrom 1883 to 1884.[1]It was written inClassical Chinese(한문;Hán văn).[1]It is not the first newspaper to be published in Korea; that was the 1881Chōsen Shinpō,which was primarily written in both Japanese and Classical Chinese.[2]
The newspaper ceased publication because its facilities were destroyed in a fire during the failedGapsin Coup.It was succeeded by a weekly newspaperHansŏng jubo,in 1886.
The newspaper is thought to have produced 40 issues before its closure, but the only known extant copies are of issues No. 1 to No. 36. They are stored in theSeoul National UniversityLibrary andNational Library of Korea.[1]
History
[edit]Prior to the newspaper's publication, the Korean government already had a publication entitledJobo(조보;Triều báo). However, the publication was mostly just for government officials and was limited to mostly domestic issues.[3]Korea had then just emerged from centuries of isolationism around this point, and ambassadors who visited foreign countries observed that general-interest modern newspapers that published on international issues were useful.[3]
In 1882,Park Yung-hyoand other members of theJoseon Susinsa(Joseon's ambassadors to Japan) were inspired by the rise of the modern press in Japan. They wanted to develop a native press in Korea. To this end, they brought several Japanese reporters and printing experts as consultants and returned to Korea.[1][3]Park met with the Korean monarchGojongseveral times, and advocated for the creation of a publication. Around February 1883, Gojong approved the paper's creation.[1][3]
Park andYu Kil-chun,who were both considered by the mainstream government to be radical reformists around that time, initially took the lead in preparing for the publication of the paper.[1][3]However, around April 1883, Park was suddenly demoted, and Yu became ill.[1]Park's demotion was possibly due to the influence of the powerfulYeoheung Min clan,which saw Park's views as anti-monarchy.[3]Afterwards, the paper was led by politicians who were considered more moderate monarchists of the foreign affairs department; cousinsKim Man-sikand Kim In-sik (김인식;Kim dần thực) were put in charge of the paper.[1][3]Most Japanese consultants were sent back to Japan, with onlyInoue Kakugorōstaying behind to supervise operations.[3][1]They worked out of an office inJeo-dong.[1]
Hansŏng sunbobegan publication on October 31, 1883.[1]It was published by theBanmunguk,the government printing office and first Korean modern printing operation.[1][4][3]The paper was published three times per month, beginning on the first of each month (Korean calendar).[1]Both public officials and private citizens could subscribe to the paper. Copies of the paper were delivered quickly after printing to each government office. The government paid the publishing office 50munper copy printed.[1]Each issue had 18 pages, and was around 25 cm × 9 cm (9.8 in × 3.5 in) in size.[3]
Until its end, the newspaper published without interruption.[3]However, it closed around December 1884, when the headquarters and printing equipment were destroyed by fire during the failedGapsin Coup.[1]After a hiatus, the paper reemerged in 1886 as a weekly paper entitledHansŏng jubo.[1]
Contents
[edit]The paper divided its publications into two topics: domestic and foreign affairs. Domestic issues consisted of central and local government announcements, as well as private reporting on current happenings. Foreign affairs covered global geopolitics, military technology, and modern defense.[1][3]The paper overall published with the intent to modernize Korea.[1][3]A sparse number of articles introduced the ideas of parliamentary democracy and civil rights.[1]
The newspaper also published translated articles from foreign newspapers.[1]This includes articles from the Chinese newspapersShen Bao,Zi Lin Hu Bao,Chinese and Foreign Gazette,and theUniversal Circulating Herald.[1]Japanese newspapers included theJiji Shinpō,Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun,andHochi Shimbun.[1]
See also
[edit]- List of the oldest newspapers
- List of newspapers in Korea
- History of newspapers in Korea
- Tongnip sinmun
References
[edit]- ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuv한성순보( hán thành tuần báo )[Hansong Sunbo].Encyclopedia of Korean Culture(in Korean).Retrieved2024-02-09.
- ^Altman, Albert A. (1984), "Korea's First Newspaper: The Japanese Chosen shinpo",The Journal of Asian Studies43 (4): 685–696
- ^abcdefghijklm박문국의 설치와≪한성순보≫·≪한성주보≫의 간행.우리역사넷(in Korean).Retrieved2024-02-09.
- ^김, 은신 (1995).이것 이 한국 최초(in Korean). 삼문. pp. 209–211.ISBN978-89-85407-35-9.
External links
[edit]- https://nl.go.kr/newspaper/publish_date.do?searchPaper=%ED%95%9C%EC%84%B1%EC%88%9C%EB%B3%B4– Scanned and searchable copies available for free on theKorean Newspaper Archive