Al-Jazeera’s Seoul bureau

Arab news network Al-Jazeera first grabbed global attention when it aired an exclusive audio recording of Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Al-Jazeera means “island” or “peninsula,” referring to the Arabian Peninsula, and started off as a satellite station in Qatar established by Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa in November 1996. The network has since grown into a global media group reaching 220 million viewers through 20 channels, including one in English and another for sports.

When Al-Jazeera started broadcasting, people thought of it as just another network. It gained popularity, however, after the emir’s personal investment shielded the network from government influence. The Saudi royal family closed the U.K.’s BBC Arabic Television, which it deemed unfriendly to the family. Al-Jazeera recruited the defunct network`s reporters who had nowhere to go and they eventually contributed to Al-Jazeera`s success. The emir did not intervene in Al-Jazeera’s coverage, simply saying, “Just do as you did at the BBC.”

News from Al-Jazeera was a fresh change from the perspective of Western media such as CNN on the Middle East. While Western media mostly covered Israelis being attacked by Palestinians in the second Palestinian intifada in 2002, Al-Jazeera also showed Palestinians who were attacked by Israelis. Al-Jazeera reporters were the only journalists who could enter Afghanistan after the 2001 terrorist attacks and interview Hezbollah leaders, whom Western media cannot contract. This led to suspicion of the Arab network having ties to terrorist groups, leading the U.S. to attack Al-Jazeera’s bureau in Kabul, Afghanistan, immediately after the 9/11 attacks.

Al-Jazeera will set up a Seoul bureau in the first half of this year, a decision apparently spurred by the popularity of Korean pop culture in the Middle East such as TV dramas, games and food. The network has 400 correspondents in some 60 countries and three Asian bureaus in Beijing, Kuala Lumpur and Manila. Al-Jazeera has covered stories on Korea such as mad cow disease, the 2008 candlelight vigils, and the deployment of Korean troops to Iraq. It will cover more of Korea with the Seoul bureau. Just as the world expanded its view of the Middle East through the network, Middle Easterners can hopefully learn more about Koreans and what they think.

Editorial Writer Chung Sung-hee (shchung@donga.com)