|
''The Independent'' or ''Tongnip Sinmun'' (독립신문; 1896–1899) was early Korean newspapers. ''Tongnip Sinmun'' was the first privately managed modern daily newspaper in Korea. It was founded in July 1896 by a member of the enlightened Korean intelligentsia, Seo Jae-pil (later known as Philip Jaisohn). It constituted two different language editions: Korean and English. Originally, it was published every other day and developed into a daily newspaper in Korean.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Tongnip sinmun )〕 The English edition, originally published every other day like the Korean edition, was later only published weekly. It has been estimated that the paper's average circulation per issue was between two and three thousand copies.〔Schmid, Andre (2002). ''Korea Between Empires, 1895-1919.'' New York: Columbia University Press, p. 51.〕 ==Background== The key figure in the paper's establishment was undeniably Seo Jae-pil. After the failure of the progressive Gapsin Coup in 1884, Seo sought refuge in the United States. In exile he learned from Pak Yeong-hyo (, ) that he had been pardoned from the charge of high treason as of March 1895, and further, that his ''"Gaehwapa"'' (, lit. reformist) comrades had come to power during his exile. As a result, he decided to return to Korea in December of that year. In Korea, the Prime Minister, Kim Hong-jip (, ) persuaded Seo to join the cabinet as the ''Oemu hyeoppan'' (외무협판, the modern equivalent to Minister of Foreign Affairs). However, Seo rejected the proposal, urging grassroots enlightenment to be a more urgent matter than his entry into the national cabinet. Seo viewed the absence of support from the populous as the primary cause of the Gapsin Coup failure. He also judged that the success of the Gabo reform (1894) was reliant solely on the support from the public. In order to achieve this support, it was most imperative to have a progressive newspaper as a vehicle of mass education. Accordingly, in January 1896 Seo Jae-pil and Yu Gil-chun reached an agreement to establish a non-governmental newspaper company and to publish both Korean and English editions beginning March 1 of that same year. The Kim Hong-jip cabinet backed the plan vehemently. Indeed, the cabinet promised to grant him a fund (300 won a month) from the government budget and even appointed Seo as an advisor to the ''Jungchuwon'' (중추원, 中樞院), or Privy Council. Even though the collapse of the Kim Hong-jip cabinet resulted in the loss of support of such prominent figures as Yu Gil-chun, Seo did receive from the succeeding Pak Jung-yang cabinet re-approval of the plan to establish the newspaper. The Pak cabinet spent 3,000 won plus another 1,400 won for paper's the founding funds and Seo's living expenses respectively. Seo purchased a printer and printing types from Japan. He rented a government-owned building in the Jung-dong district of Seoul, launched the ''Tongnip Sinmun'' newspaper company, and published its first edition in April 1896. In short, the ''Tongnip Sinmun'' was the result of joint work between Seo Jae-pil and the government under the cabinets of both Kim and Park. Seo Jae-pil was the chief editor of the newly launched paper. For the editorial sections of both the Korean and English versions, Ju Si-gyeong acted as an assistant editor. At the time it was published, it was a tabloid newspaper (8.6 x 12.9) and was published three times a week (every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday), comprising 4 pages in total. The first three pages were printed in Korean and the last page, entitled “The Independent”, in English . Unlike existing governmental bulletins, it also covered practical matters. It contents generally included editorials, local items, official bulletins, as well as a digest of domestic and foreign news and miscellaneous information, including advertisements. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tongnip Sinmun」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|