[Opinion] Dostoevsky`s Newspaper Love

Fulltime professional writers began to emerge in the 20th century. By the 19th century, writers were amateurish, close to being dilettantes who just loved art. But Fyodor Dostoevsky was not. He wrote to make money. Korea University’s Russian Literature professor Seok Yeong-jung, the author of “Writing for Money,” interpreted Dostoevsky in that context. He said, “Dostoevsky wrote not to teach and deliver the God’s teachings to the public; he simply needed money to making a living, to pay back gambling debts and to make up for the advance money from his publisher.”

To make his books popular, Dostoevsky reading newspapers. Seok shed light on Dostoevsky as avid newspaper reader. “Dostoevsky gobbled up each and every article. While staying overseas, he begged his friends to send him Russian newspapers in a tone he used to beg money. His addiction to newspapers was desperate as he was to gambling,” relates Seok. He seems to have been obsessed with the idea that he could not appeal to his readers unless he understood newspapers first.

His masterpieces like “Crime and Punishment” and “The Raw Youth” were inspired by newspaper articles covering crime stories. His centuries-old literary attraction seems to have come from the mixture of ordinary daily lives with profound philosophical themes. Some 200 years have passed since he passed away. But the influence of newspapers has kept rising ever since. American real estate billionaire Donald Trump often praises newspapers as the barometer of new trends.

Korea Value Asset Management Vice President Lee Chae-won, who first aroused public awareness of the value investment, starts his day reading newspapers. Newspapers provide insight into the values of companies amidst a barrage of present and future trends. In the information age, knowledge is money and constitutes the core of business. Advanced countries buy and distribute newspapers to schools, and mandate their use in classroom. The countries want to foster and instill fresh ideas in their teens, and, thereby, secure their continuing advance. Today, we celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the Newspaper Day. Newspapers are the windows to the world.

Editorial Writer Huh Mun-myeong (angelhuh@donga.com)