AsiaN to add new languages to its editions next year

Asian Journalists Association  (From left) Sophal Chai, senior adviser to Cambodia News; Doan Thi Phuong, Vietnam Dantri reporter; Nasir Aijaz, editor-in-chief of Pakistan Sindh Courier; Lee Sang-ki, founding president of tAJA and CEO and publisher of AsiaN; Pooneh Nedai, editor-in-chief of Iran Shokran magazine; Ashraf Dali, President of AJA, Kuban Abdymen, Former Director of Kabar News Agency, Kyrgyzstan, Kang Seok-jae, AJA Vice President, and Eddy Suprapto, Director of Sagar News, Indonesia

SEOUL: AsiaN, the media arm of the Asia Journalists Association (AJA) said that it is planning to expand its multilingual edition as the print and on-line magazine celebrated its 11^th anniversary.

“A consensus was formed through in-depth discussions with the members of the Asia Journalists Association,” said AsiaN CEO and Publisher Sang-ki Lee.

“We plan to add Asian language versions early next year.”

Possible languages to be added to the current Korea, Arabic and English will be Persian, Urdu and Indonesian.

The announcement was made as AJA members celebrated the anniversary of the founding of the AJA (Chairman Bonhong Koo, President Ashraf Dali) and AsiaN at Myeongdong CGV .

Koo Bon-hong, AJA chairman (left), presents a commemorative copper plate of the AJA Award 2022 to actor Park Hae-il. (Photo = Kang Jae-hoon)

Coinciding with the anniversary celebration, AJA unanimously decided to present its award to Park Hae-il, a South Korean actor who debuted in theaters before achieving greater fame in movies. He was the lead actor in ‘Decision to Say Goodbye’, an award-winning film at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The event was attended by Koo Bon-hong, chairman of the Asia Journalists Association, Lee Man-soo, chairman of the Hulk Foundation, and Lee Jun-seok, former leader of the People Power Party.

Koo Bon-hong said that the award winner movie of Park Hae-il is a masterpiece that rivals ‘Parasite’ and deserves an Oscar.

“We hope that actor Park Hae-il will continue to do better overseas with the AJA Awards,” he said.

“The Asian Journalists Association, which was launched in 2004, and the AsianN, which was founded on November 11, 2011, by AJA members, celebrated their anniversary. As a small medium, AsiaN is bound to face many difficulties. It is a miracle that it grows every year and holds an event like this. I hope that many people here will support AsiaN so that it can grow into a global media outlet.”

Koo Bon-hong, chairman of the Asian Journalists Association (left), hands over a commemorative copper plate for the AJA Award 2022 to actor Park Hae-il. <Photo = Kang Jae-hoon, former head of the photography department of the Hankyoreh>

Lee Jun-seok (left) and Lee Man-soo (Photo: Lee Young-joon)

Lee Jun-seok, former representative of People’s Power (left) and Lee Man-soo, chairman of the Hulk Foundation <Photo = Photographer Lee Young-joon>

Lee Man-soo, chairman of the Hulk Foundation, congratulated Park Hae-il on the award.

“AsiaN celebrated its 11th anniversary this year. Not too long ago, SSG Landers, which I was a member of, won the championship in Korean professional baseball. The development of professional baseball was greatly influenced by the media. I ask that the media give a lot of strength to our film as well,” he said.

Group photo. On this day, the audience who filled the hall congratulated actor Park Hae-il, the winner of the AJA Award 2022, and AsiaN, which celebrated its 11th anniversary.

Lee Jun-seok said that “politics and the media are inseparable.” “The same goes for freedom of speech and press. Just as AsiaN has thrived so far, I hope that journalists from all over Asia will deliver the facts through solidarity, and go beyond that to protect the greater value of freedom,” he said.