A group of South Korean students march toward Myanmar’s Embassy in Seoul on Feb. 5, 2021, as they participate in a protest rally against the Southeast Asian country’s military, which seized power in a Feb. 1 coup and detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — A campaign launched by a South Korean news outlet to help journalists in Myanmar is drawing significant attention.
OhmyNews, an Internet-based newspaper in South Korea, said that donations for the campaign that was launched in August to help the Myanmar press passed the 10 million won (US$8,354) mark on Tuesday.
The project was launched to help local journalists in Myanmar, where press activities have become almost impossible since military coup.
After the coup, the freedom of the press was thoroughly suppressed. In March, a total of five media outlets were shut down in Myanmar by the Ministry of Information, which is under the control of coup forces.
As of the end of June, 88 journalists had been illegally arrested and 26 more were on the wanted list.
Even under extreme situations and severe surveillance by armed forces, Myanmar journalists sent reports to OhmyNews, which translated them and published them in both Korean and Myanmar nationals.
“We deeply appreciate South Koreans who give support and encouragement to Myanmar. We’ll do our best to inform news about Myanmar despite the devastating situation facing not only the people of Myanmar but also journalists here,” said the MPA (Myanmar Pressphoto Agency), a gathering of local journalists who send news to OhmyNews.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
