Issue:
July 2024
Criticism of linguistically challenged foreign correspondents misses the point
An unexpected debate erupted following the latest press conference by Yoon Suk Yeol - one about the language used in questions to the South Korean president. Declaring it disrespectful and unprofessional, a column in the conservative Chosun Ilbo attacked the few foreign reporters who were invited to the rare event in May and did not use Korean while addressing him.
The column contended that foreign correspondents – particularly those from English-speaking countries – cannot speak Korean beyond basic greetings. The Korean author argued that this lack of skills was a failure of basic journalism that results in an over-reliance on English-speaking Koreans for knowledge of Korean society, thus producing either distorted or incomplete reporting.
Promoting language competency certainly has value, and I'll be the first to say so. As a journalist based in Seoul, I've invested considerable time, energy and money in learning Korean since my university days. This has allowed me to conduct interviews, read local sources, and perhaps more easily gain insights into Korean society. I am not perfect, still learning, and will probably continue learning forever.
But I also realise that not all are in the same boat, and the posture of the argument that foreign journalists must speak the local language oversimplifies the complicated dynamics of international journalism and ignores the point of what makes reporting successful.
Simply put, good journalism should be assessed depending on the calibre of reporting and the relevance of the questions asked. While another reporter might ask a surface-level or poorly thought-out question in fluent Korean, another might ask a perceptive, probing question in English that touches on the core of an issue. The nature of the investigation is not predicated on the language of delivery.
In fact, at that very press conference, a colleague asked the president, in English, what the country’s “red lines” were when it came to Russia cooperating with North Korea and how he would react if Putin visited Pyongyang. Six weeks later, South Korea finds itself in a sticky situation where those lines have clearly been crossed.
The scene of foreign media coverage in South Korea has changed dramatically during the last 10 years. To close linguistic and cultural gaps, major foreign outlets and news wires hire local Korean reporters full-time. This has resulted in noticeably better depth and accuracy of reporting coming out of the country. Whether foreign nationals or Koreans, these reporters frequently do thorough fieldwork, personally interview a wide spectrum of people, with or without the help of a translator or helper, interact with different groups, and offer careful analysis that is perhaps not as urgent as local media’s breaking news cycle but instead hopefully offers more balance and accuracy.
Also crucial are the ever-growing English-language news sources in South Korea. For foreign reporters, this ecosystem of publications, including the Korea Times, the Korea Herald, and the JoongAng Daily, as well as the English pages of important Korean media outlets, offer vital materials. There’s also the fast development of translation tools and artificial intelligence that allow fairly decent translations of Korean pages for quick general overviews. Although these shouldn't be the only sources of knowledge, let alone substitutes for it, they are nevertheless significant bridges.
Korean is not an international language in the way that English is. It's not typically taught from a young age in most countries, so people arriving in South Korea are unlikely to be fluent unless they've either learned it from childhood or undergone serious training that takes years, if not decades. Learning Korean to a level fit for challenging sophisticated questions at a presidential press conference would take years, usually more than most correspondents’ postings in Korea allow. This is to accept the pragmatic reality of international journalism, not to justify a lack of effort in learning the local tongue.
Professional interpreters attending such events are there for a reason: to guarantee accurate communication. This is particularly true when considering the delicate nature of diplomatic inquiries. In that sense, using English is a sensible decision to guarantee clarity and prevent misunderstandings, rather than a sign of disrespect.
If we reverse the situation, we might discover that Korean correspondents working overseas sometimes have similar difficulties. The reality is that the challenges of foreign correspondence are universal. The irony of course is that South Korean media often quote foreign reports about their own country. In some cases, these reports are claimed to be more truthful than their own.
The Chosun Ilbo article also raised questions about the acknowledgement and pay for local staff employed by foreign media outlets. This is an important point that must be taken seriously. Though they do much of the groundwork and offer priceless insights, local reporters sometimes go without proper credit or pay. Worse still, I’ve seen young budding reporters being exploited by foreign journalists for free in the name of an internship. I’ve seen a heavy reliance by some reporters on English-speaking Koreans, those educated in Western countries, and sometimes no quotes from actual Korean experts because they don’t speak English. This is a big problem, and one that should be called out. But it doesn’t apply to everyone.
In an ideal world, every correspondent would be native to the tongue of their designated nation. But the reality of international journalism is more complicated. Foreign reporters must communicate events in a way that appeals to their target audience and grasps not only the country they are in, but also their home countries’ language, writing style, and editorial expectations.
Although international journalism always has room for improvement, emphasising only the language seems misguided and ignores the bigger picture. Let's not forget what really counts: accurate, insightful, and impactful reporting that bridges cultural divides and fosters international understanding. Though our languages may vary, our compass should always be the quest for clarity and truth.
Raphael Rashid is a Seoul-based freelance journalist and author of The Korea We Refuse to See.
