Journalists Share How COVID-19 is Affecting Media Coverage in South Korea

South Korea was one of the worst-hit countries in the early stages of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak outside China. Fortunately, the virus spread is now largely under control, thanks to effective government measures such as providing timely and transparent updates to the public, the use of self-diagnosis smartphone apps and swift implementation of a large-scale screening regime.

Like many other countries, South Korea’s battle against COVID-19 has affected a wide range of industries, including communications and media. PR Newswire has been closely monitoring how South Korea media has been impacted by the health crisis. We catch up with five journalists to find out what is on their news agenda and how they are adapting to new workflows.

Woo Kyeom Kim, Journalist, The Korea Industry Daily

News focus

Now we are mainly focusing on the business impact of COVID-19, especially on small businesses. To help our audiences, we also share the experience of companies that have effectively mitigated the business impact of COVID-19. We are covering news about cancellation and delay of promotional activities and events as well as how countries across the globe are responding to this health crisis.

How have my working conditions changed?

Covering in-person events and activities are off-limits now. As a result, PR professionals are looking for online alternatives. Many PR professionals have sought our advice on creating better online content and how to refresh their online platforms to attract more consumers.

I’m still working from the office but I must wear a mask and the office is disinfected regularly. We also try to avoid unnecessary in-person meetings during working hours.

Eunji Oh, Team Manager, KIPOST & KINEWS

News focus

KIPOST and KINEWS are media outlets that mainly cover the technology and finance industries. Recently, I’m focused on covering news that is related to market changes due to the COVID-19 situation, especially on the supply chain impact. I’ve also been keeping a close watch on the performance of many companies and how they’ve changed their business strategies, particularly on investment plans.

How have my working conditions changed?

We already had the option of working remotely even before the COVID-19 outbreak so nothing has changed much for me. However, as the government is urging people to practise social distancing seriously, it has been difficult to conduct in-person interviews. As a result, maintaining good content quality without face-to-face meetings has been one of my biggest concerns recently.

Kwangha Park, Journalist, Korea Information & Telecommunication News

News focus

The COVID-19 outbreak has a greater impact on the Information & Telecommunications industry. Companies are opting to work from home and more people are minimizing contact through the “untact” movement, which means to “undo contact” where possible. As such, readers also want to hear more stories on how technology can be used in light of this trend and we are doing more in-depth stories on smart work technology and the “untact” movement.

Many Korean software & ICT companies such as Hancom, Tmax Soft and Douzone are actively promoting newly launched smart work solutions. Also, international companies, such as CISCO, are offering free trial services for their key audiences to test their products, in order to increase sales and encourage word-of-mouth marketing about their services.

How have my working conditions changed?

COVID-19 has changed the work environment in South Korea. More businesses have implemented remote working arrangements and are disinfecting the office regularly. Our office is no exception. Currently, we have flexible work arrangements and are avoiding in-person meetings. Instead, we prefer to do phone calls or emails.

In light of the cancellation or postponement of events and activities, some companies have decided to hold online events such as webinars as an alternative. As a result, I’m doing more product reviews rather than showing photos of products and events. In my opinion, this practice will continue even after the pandemic.

Newsrooms around the world are experimenting with virtual reality as it offers an immersive experience to audiences. I think that the COVID-19 situation will encourage greater adoption of VR and 3D technology in the journalism field.

Jae-Yong Ryu, CEO, ACROFAN

News focus

Readers in South Korea are interested to get an international perspective of their country’s measures against the spread of COVID-19. South Korea was one of the worst-hit countries in the early stages of the outbreak, which resulted in many countries suspending air travel to/from South Korea. Some Koreans, who live overseas, even experienced discrimination in some countries.

However, the government has managed to control the COVID-19 infection rate with its swift response to the crisis, and most Koreans are proud of this.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea is preparing for its legislative election on 15 April. I will be closely monitoring the elections as the results might be influenced by public perceptions of the government’s response to COVID-19.

How have my working conditions changed?

Like everyone else, I’m trying to avoid in-person meetings and using emails, phone calls or SMS to communicate with others. I am also opting for online video meetings to replace in-person meetings. Video conferencing has become quite trendy and some companies, especially those in the education section, are providing such free tools to their customers. The widespread use is also in schools, which began the academic year with online classes.

The South Korean economy is also slowing down. Some companies are unable to pay their subcontractors, while some firms are planning to lay off workers due to the COVID-19 crisis. This will result in fewer good jobs and the economy will take a very long time to recover.

Taewoo Choi, Founder & Editor in chief, IT Biz News

News focus

I’m still mainly covering news related to IT, manufacturing, energy, and finance industries.

How have my working conditions changed?

COVID-19 has changed how journalists in South Korea cover the news. There are fewer events and press conferences to attend as we are all encouraged to practice social distancing and follow the “untact” movement.

I can see that there has been a bigger impact on the IT and manufacturing industries, which can be felt from the cancellations of international exhibitions such as MWC (Mobile World Congress) and SEMICON KOREA. On the positive side, some IT companies are using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to support the production of COVID-19 testing kits. Some companies are also distributing free apps to track the spread of the virus, which is very helpful to people now.

Currently, I rarely conduct in-person interviews and prefer using emails, phone calls or social media platforms such as Facebook to communicate with others including PR professionals.

 

Click here to read more stories on how journalists in APAC have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This blog post is written by Hwajin Choi, Audience Development Executive in South Korea at PR Newswire. If you would like to be featured, please get in touch with her at hwajin.choi@prnasia.com