The mass media does not only publish news but is a medium for advertising. For the industry, advertising is as important as the news, for it is the main means of revenue. In the recent Catholic Times, a one-time editor continues to instruct the readers on fake advertising.
Of course, the DNA of news content and advertising are different. Advertising is a commercial interest and the news is of public interest. They have opposite qualities but have a symbiotic relationship in that they need each other.
Consequently, both have to be accompanied by news ethics and advertising ethics. The Internet Newspaper Ethics Committee considers both equally important.
Nowadays, fake news is often filled with fake advertising. Articles are made to pass as news when they are advertising for a company or product. Even the name of the reporter is disguised. With the expansion of digital media, the advertising revenue of newspapers and other media has decreased. Fake news covering all kinds of subjects such as recreation, hospitals, cosmetics, travel, automobiles, contain camouflaged advertising. No indication we are reading an 'advertisement'.
A few years ago, one of the famous daily newspapers in an article used to advertise on the internet was believed by the readers and the goods were ordered. Not receiving the goods the victims sued the companies as fraudulent and won the lawsuit against three newspapers that posted the same article.
The newspaper advertising code of ethics consists of four sections. The first one is "newspaper advertising should benefit the reader and be trusted." Also, the following three prohibited contents: "unscientific or superstitious", "speculation", "untrustworthy enterprises".
In addition to the article type advertisement, the ethics committee frequently punishes 'fake advertisements as 'unscientific or superstitious advertisement'. It still means that unscientific or superstitious advertising is doing well. It is surprising when we think about the educational and cultural level of our people, but they advertise what is still in demand.
If we see the titles of the ads that the Korean Newspaper Ethics Committee has filed for disciplinary measures in the last three months as unscientific or superstitious we will easily understand what is meant. Solving all your marriage problems, employment, passing tests, business prosperity and all kinds of health problems with groundless, unreliable solutions.
Of course, readers and viewers have different levels of credibility about news and advertising. Unlike news, however, most people understand that with advertising a considerable amount of exaggeration and even falsity is included. Even so, to delude persons who are in a state of desperation and looking for anything to help, this approach is wrong-headed. The same is true for large daily newspapers, which boast of their history and tradition and continue to display such advertisements.
Both Catholic Weeklies had stories on violence against women. Social media spotlighted the problem with the abuse of a migrant woman by her husband. Revealed to the public, it ignited the indignation of many of the South Koreans and a desire to do something.
Since Korean women are not anxious to go to the farming areas of the country, many of the farmers look for brides from other countries. Language and culture are mostly to blame for the domestic violence in these cases.
There is a saying that you don't strike another with flowers: meaning violence can never be justified. The images on the social media showing the woman being assaulted by her husband in front of her child were difficult to view for many. The voice of criticism was loud but society has still to deal with the situation.
Patriarchy and drinking are reasons given for the frequency but we also have the attitude of the citizens which may have something to do with the problem. Nearly one in five women in Korea say that a husband may be justified in hitting or beating his wife compared with one in thirteen women in OECD countries on average.
The Seoul Catholic Women's Welfare Council discussed the issue on the 30th anniversary of its founding. The topic was the 'actual state of economic independence of women leaving domestic violence centers, and measures necessary'.
A survey made on the situation with 149 victims who had left the centers was reviewed. According to the results, 60.4 % of the victims were divorced. Others were in the process of divorcing or living separated from their husbands. Many had economic difficulties after leaving the facility. Housing problems were the biggest. Finding employment was not easy. Women also have emotional and psychological difficulties; anxiety they will face violence again is present.
Group homes provided by the government number about 30% of the facilities at present. Those who need such facilities are many; the need is greater then what society has at present.
Paying for housing was the biggest problem that all the age groups had even of those in their 60s or older. After release from the facilities providing support was most helpful. During the time in these facilities help in finding work with vocational training programs was seen as necessary.
Over 64 % have not received any aid whatsoever. And this according to those who know the situation means that many have to go back to where they suffered the abuse. Without a safe place to go independence will be impossible.
The Church needs to extend its work for those who need help. This will be an area in which other church communities, organizations, and society as a whole will need to be involved.
The Catholic Times of Korea the oldest Catholic weekly has launched a website to keep its readers abreast of the news. The Catholic e Times will be available on your PC and mobile phone allowing one to access content not available in the newspaper. The Weekly in one of its recent issues introduced the new features of the online edition.
The 'Catholic e-Newspaper', launched in 2016, can be accessed with the smartphone that allows busy people to easily access church news and information anytime and anywhere. Also produces high-quality images and allows readers around the world to view the paper and YouTube channels.
Efforts were made so that the new media may be easily accessed by those who are not used to the smartphone. On the webpage that appears once you write (가톨릭e신문) you will have easy access to the site. However, you have free access to some areas and the others require that you pay a subscription fee. Those who speak Korean, may find this well worth the money. English is offered in many programs.
The Catholic Newspaper, which began in 1927 during the Japanese colonial period, has tried to present accurate news to the readers as a representative of the Korean Catholic Church. But today, Korea and the entire world suffers from "fake news" that is produced and spread indiscriminately.
The digital online media represented by YouTube has content that can not be verified as correct information. In particular, the news of the Catholic Church following the teachings of the universal church is also mixed with distorted content produced by channel operators who are keen on recruiting religious groups and subscribers."Fake News" is not just YouTube's problem. "Fake News" spreads in blogs, cafes and portal sites operated by individuals— Facebook, KakaoTalk, etc.
Catholic e-newspapers have various functions besides the opportunity of reading the newspapers. The Catholic e-Newspaper Premium gives you a chance to hear more news from honorary journalists from around the country. It also has a variety of attractions and informative contents such as videos and foreign language news services translated into Chinese and English.
The Catholic Newspaper has opened a channel on YouTube and is showing footage of films. In addition to conveying the news of the Korean church to the audience, they have attracted the attention of readers with appropriate visual content on many aspects of church life here in Korea. If you write (가톨릭 신문) in the YouTube search engine and click, the newspaper channel will appear and you will know how to continue.
This effort of the Church in Korea is a tool for evangelization and to help the Christians be more knowledgeable about their faith.
The Catholic News Weekly had an article on hate speech and the problems that arise. The Weekly had an interview with professor Hong who has made a study of the issue in society and records his thoughts on the subject. Like Jesus, who first came to those who were marginalized and excluded from society, you have to push your hands out first with love.
With the development of the media and the Internet, our society is full of hatred. Aversion is no longer an emotion of disliking an object but changing words into knives. Preaching disgust against those who are marginalized in society affects society as a whole. With the direct and terrible violence of 'hate crime', we have a serious social problem.
In this situation, the professor is gaining sympathy from the public on hate speech in Korea. "Christians need to be sensitive to hate speech, discrimination, and work aggressively against them."
The professor became interested in the subject and worried about what was the limit to our freedom of expression. There has been much debate in Europe on hate speech and is not recognized under freedom of expression. While he was studying whether this discussion would be necessary for Korea, the expression of dislike in our society started to become an issue and decided to research it.
Expressing disgust is a phenomenon that has always been with us but has intensified recently. The main reason is that people do not fight against the real problems of society but create scapegoats. Expressions of abhorrence and discrimination spread at a faster pace due to the influence of the Internet and the media environment.
Hate speech undermines human dignity. Harm is done to the personality and the mental health of those discriminated. It does not stop here, but it hampers their social life in general. Another problem is that it causes direct harm to society. Most of the objects of abhorrence are already socially discriminated against. In particular, people with disabilities, migrants, women, sexual minorities are becoming victims of direct and wide-ranging aversion.
As a member of the Catholic Human Rights Commission, and a member of a sub-committee of Justice and Peace Committee he was asked what role should the church play in the problem with hate speech. The spirit of the church is to love and embrace. Jesus' actions have always approached those who are alienated and excluded from society. We Christians must live according to His life. I think the church should be most sensitive to hate and discrimination, and the most aggressive in its removal. For example, I think it was important to have an active role in the diocese of Jeju when refugees became a hot topic in our society. When many people showed negative attitudes, the first thing they did was to mention the role of religion in Korean society.
The church has always been interested in groups alienated in society. I think that the attitude of listening first and reaching out to them is an important role of the church today. Also, if the church is an open place where everyone is welcomed, and there is no discrimination in the church, it will be a good sign in preventing hatred and discrimination in society.
Can the Anti-Discrimination Act prevent discrimination and exclusion? Although the Constitution declares that discrimination is prohibited, there are no laws that specify the meaning at present. The Anti-Discrimination Act is meaningful in that it is an official declaration that discrimination is prohibited in our society.
If the media did not do its job hate speech would be flagrant in society. Consequently, it is difficult to say that the media itself is blatantly promoting hatred. However, there are quite a few cases where not enough attention was given to details. For example, in the case of crime reports from people with mental illness, the content of the article may tell you the truth, but it can have a tremendous impact, such as driving the public opinion that mentally challenged people are potential criminals and that they need to be in prison. Journalists have a responsibility to pay some attention to whether discrimination or dislike is encouraged.
Professor Hong believes the problem of hate and discrimination in Korean society will be one of the most serious social problems. The church has a history of always welcoming groups that are discriminated and excluded with love and acceptance. The Catholic Church, in particular, embraces the person as a child of God even if they did something that did not conform to the teaching of the Church. We reach out to listen to their stories and hope for a change in their lives.
"When the wind blows, leaves fall. When the leaves fall, the soil becomes fertile. When the soil is fertile, the fruit ripens—slowly, carefully."
These words like a repeated mantra were heard by those watching the Japanese movie Life is Fruity. A professor at a Seoul university in an article in the Catholic Peace Weekly introduces us to the movie and its teaching. He recalls a Japanese word he heard over and over again during the movie and understood it as going slow, doing thinks meticulously, carefully.
The movie was released in Korea in the winter of 2018 and received much love. It is a documentary of the life of an old couple living 65 years in a small house 40 years ago in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. They grew 50 kinds of fruits and 70 kinds of vegetables and lived at a slow-pace with the work of their hands.
Grandfather S was an architect and urban designer, who in his first assignments saw his ideas repudiated and work done in a completely different way from his vision. He gave up the architect's path. Instead, with his wife began to live the 'slow life' by raising plants with their own hands.
For 90 minutes the movie goes on leaving one with scenes that continue to remain with one. One such scene is the collecting of fallen leaves and putting them in burlap bags. It was the last action performed by grandfather S before retiring from the work of the day. After her husband's death, you would also see her collecting the leaves.
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Why would they so religiously spend time gathering the leaves which to the professor seemed rather unimportant? To spread on the field is the reason. Leaves fall from the tree, rot and make the earth fertile. The core of farming is the land. The earth in order to give life for a long period of time needs to be fertile and leaves perform that task.
The grandmother on one occasion planted some lettuce seeds in a plastic container. The first year the harvest was plentiful the second year she planted the seeds in the same container, nothing grew she learned a great lesson. Without a fertile earth, nothing will grow. Leaves which can be seen as useless are of great benefit to farming and of great use. Let's listen to her.
"I can not hand over money to the next generation, but if we leave them with good soil, anyone can have plentiful crops. You should give your grandchildren's generation good soil."
Not only are we talking about fallen leaves? Many happenings in life are not what they seem.
When I realized that my second child had a developmental disorder at the age of five, I thought the heavens would fall. I grumbled against God. I was late to know that my child, who had a little less than other children, had in other areas more, and saw the child as a very special gift, not a trial. Discovering the usefulness of what seems useless and reviving it, is a topic for this age. Let's discover with clear eyes the use of subjects that seem useless to many.
In the Russian novel by Dostoevsky, the Karamazov Brothers the second son of Fedor is Ivan an atheist, the writer of the Peace Column of the Catholic Peace Weekly brings to the readers' attention the words this cold reasoning, proud individual, confides to his brother Alyosha.
"I want to live. I want to live even though it's against my logic. Even though I do not believe in the order of things— in the spring, the sticky leaves that sprout are precious, the blue sky is precious, and sometimes without any reason, people are seen by me as precious."
When we finish this pilgrimage on earth what will we consider the most valuable? It is hard to assert anything because life is the first experience for all of us. However, it seems that it is not riches, honor, and power that we struggle to achieve like swarms of insects flying towards the light on a summer night.
I have never seen anyone who was dying ever lament on not making more money or for not receiving sufficient honors. But rather missing the small moments of everyday life with the family, a pleasant trip, spending time with friends. Even Ivan, with his intellectual vanity, says that a person who can see the leaves and the sky and the preciousness of life doesn't want to die.
However, nowadays people are buried in work not able to see what is precious. It's not working to live, but living to work; one forgets what comes first. The meaning of life is nothing more than a hollow philosophy to people who spend their lives dying in the work. Labor is not a blessing but a curse. Such workaholics do not enjoy the freedom of a holiday. Freedom is just an uncomfortable waste.
Ivan's confession tells what is most valuable in life. Falling leaves, bright blue sky, and good people can not be measured numerically. These precious things are not included in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and GNP (Gross National Product). Happiness in soaking a watermelon in the valley water, happiness to hear a child's chattering, the warm gaze of a loved one, and enjoyment of play are not captured with words.
The summer vacation season has begun. Life is difficult we hear often but at no time throughout human history do we have the abundance that we now experience. So we can take a break from work. We are invited to taste the simple pleasures of life that come to us daily without a price tag. Persons who discover these joys in life have no anxious worries that keep them from sleep or become frustrated in life.
How about asking 'Wisdom on how to count' (Psalm 90,12)."Teach us to count how few days we have and so gain wisdom of the heart." What will I miss on the day when the expiration date for my life approaches? With this wisdom, the happiness we taste during the holidays will be doubled.
The warnings about health seem to be increasing. Water, air, food all the natural gifts have become tainted with pollutants known and unknown. A member of the Bishops' Committee on the environment writes in the Catholic Peace Weekly on the Ozone problem we face.
The past few days have been like a picture card with the beautiful blue sky and white clouds introducing us to a beautiful sunset. But the cell phone sent us a warning message: be careful about your health—the sun is hot and temperature high—drink plenty of water and avoid outdoor activities.
Ozone (O3) which occurs mainly from late spring to early autumn is harmful to health, along with fine dust and heat. How much do we know about ozone?
Naturally occurring ozone functions like a net that blocks the sun's ultraviolet rays so that life on Earth is possible. On the other hand, there is ozone that is a by-product of air pollution, and this ozone is harmful to the human body. Harmful ozone generated by industrialization is not produced directly by the combustion of fossil fuels. Nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds generated during combustion are generated by strong sunlight reacting with ultraviolet rays. The toxic concentration increases between late spring and early autumn.
Ozone is a substance that combines with air pollution and fine dust increasing the mortality rate. The concentration of ozone has been steadily increasing, and the ozone warning has also increased more than twice from 241 times in 2016 to 489 times in 2018.
The ozone warning is issued when the average ozone concentration is over a certain standard for 1 hour. If this condition persists for 3 ~ 4 hours, you will feel cough, eye irritation, and breathing symptoms. If it lasts for about 2 weeks, headache, shortness of breath, visual impairment, and respiratory disease are aggravated, resulting in asthma and chronic lung disease. Although ozone is known to affect only the lungs, one doctor has reported that ozone affects blood sugar, insulin, and insulin resistance and hurts diabetics.
Also, the inflammation caused by ozone affects not only the inflammation of various organs but also the neurotransmitter, which is also associated with the development of depression; the health effect is less than fine dust.
The problem is that ozone is not well known and only a few systematic studies on the origin, generation, inflow, and extermination have been made, and countermeasures are also insufficient.
The government considers ozone to be a serious problem along with fine dust, and the need to study it fully and prepare countermeasures. The standards for forecasting also need maintenance.
We need to know about ozone so we can call for measures and policies. We can reduce ozone generation when efforts are made to practice eco-life and reduce the production of fine dust.
