New owner of Anchorage Korean language newspaper aims to bridge cultural and generational gaps

2 days ago

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a Korean man successful beforehand of a antagonistic flips done a newspaper

Eugene Cho walks into a downtown business pinch a mini stack of nan latest version of nan Anchorage Korean News successful hand. He bought nan free, play newspaper successful January.

“안녕하세요” aliases “Annyeonghaseyo,” he says, greeting Benjamin Kim successful Korean.

Kim owns nan people shop Copy Alaska. He besides sells point-of-sale systems that he markets to different Korean business owners successful Cho’s newspaper. The shop is 1 of astir 100 distribution points for nan insubstantial astir nan city.

The outlook for nan people news business is bleak, nationally and successful Alaska. This year, nan Anchorage Daily News went from printing hardcopies six days a week to two – moreover aft winning American journalism’s highest honor successful 2020. Its newsroom labor are forming a union to discuss for amended moving conditions.

Yet, Anchorage, which nan U.S. Census Bureau estimates has a Korean organization of astir 4,400 people, continues to support 2 play Korean connection newspapers that are some dense pinch paid advertising. Both papers person gotten caller humor this year.

a Korean man down a antagonistic flips done a newspaper

Kim, who immigrated from South Korea to nan United States 17 years ago, said Cho is simply a bully span betwixt nan section Korean organization and nan organization astatine large. “Bridging cultures” is portion of nan paper’s motto, and it comes up a lot.

Cho bought nan newspaper done a relationship astatine a Korean taste nonprofit that he’s connected nan committee of. His master inheritance is successful integer marketing, truthful reporting and putting together 700 copies a week of a people newspaper are caller to him.

There was nary expansive scheme erstwhile he bought nan paper, he said. But he thinks it’s an important measurement to necktie Anchorage’s Korean organization together.

“‘Cause, we’re benignant of successful this shape wherever we’ve sewage younger Korean Americans who are nan early of nan Korean community,” he said. “But we were calved here, truthful we don’t really speak Korean, right?”

He’s successful his precocious 30s now, and does speak immoderate Korean. One of nan first changes he made erstwhile he took complete nan insubstantial was to make it bilingual, to thief span that generational and connection gap.

That’s 1 point that distinguishes nan Anchorage Korean News from nan Alaskan Korean Community News, nan city’s different free, Korean-langauge weekly. That insubstantial is almost wholly successful Korean. Coincidentally, Hye Ran Hunziker, who besides goes by Helen, started arsenic that paper’s do-it-all managing editor earlier this year.

Cho enlists a operation of AI and personification who’s fluent to thief construe and constitute successful Korean.

An Elderly Korean man sits astatine a desk.

“We either request to study Korean to help, you know, facilitate and support Koreans here,” he said, “or it’s conscionable going to beryllium an English-speaking Korean community.”

That intersectional spread besides carries complete to media habits. He said he has a different transportation for a first procreation Korean migrant to bargain advertizing pinch him, versus personification American-born.

“You talk to them astir online advertising, and it’s conscionable for illustration you can’t – you can’t connect, because they person nary thought what that is,” he said.

One of his goals is to build up nan newspaper’s website and beingness connected different online platforms. That’s wherever his expertise and passion are.

“I’ve ever been intrigued by, conscionable like, nan expertise to link pinch group online,” he said. “You know, successful Alaska, we’re benignant of distant here, and I grew up playing a batch of video games, truthful it was bully to – you could link pinch group anywhere, you know, and build relationships.

Lately, he’s been moving connected a video question and reply bid pinch Korean War veterans successful Alaska. He said nan fewer that are still live are mostly successful their 90s.

“I dream that by capturing these stories, Koreans tin spot what they experienced,” Cho said. “But also, younger Korean Americans who cognize thing astir nan Korean War, right? who whitethorn person not ever moreover visited Korea, tin see, like, firsthand, this is simply a personification who fought successful nan Korean War, and here’s what they lived through.”

Cho’s ain communicative originates successful nan precocious 1980s, aft his parents immigrated to Alaska.

“My dada was a janitor astatine Romig (Middle School) and West High,” he said. “My mom worked for Sky Chefs, preparing nutrient for planes. And then, you know, they conscionable saved arsenic overmuch money arsenic possible. In nan 90s, my dada started a recreation agency.”

He said he grew up pinch a divided taste identity, which is communal pinch nan children of immigrants: each Korean astatine home, and wanting to fresh successful and beryllium much mainstream American everyplace else.

His dad’s recreation agency, which does its business successful Korean, is still going. Cho’s agency for nan newspaper and his integer advertizing business is wrong nan agency’s suite successful Midtown.

After finishing up astatine Copy Alaska, Cho ticks different transportation of nan Anchorage Korean News disconnected his database for nan week. It tin beryllium an exhausting grind and isn’t a large moneymaker, he said.

But he’s eager to make it work. He has tons of questions astir journalism.

A man successful a achromatic short holds a newspaper astatine his desk.

“Has AI impacted your activity astatine all?” he asks. “What benignant of stories do Alaskans emotion nan most? … How do you cognize erstwhile a news article’s doing well?”

He’s still learning, and excited astir wherever nan paper’s going.

a image of a man outside

Jeremy Hsieh covers Anchorage pinch an accent connected housing, homelessness, infrastructure and development. Reach him atjhsieh@alaskapublic.orgor 907-550-8428. Read much astir Jeremyhere.