Mass Media in Eastern Asia
According to Countryaah, Eastern Asia is the east part of Asian continent. This page lists and introduces major newspapers in the countries of Bangladesh, China, Mongolia, North Korea, and South Korea.
Mass media in South Korea
The country has a large spread of newspapers, and since the 1980’s there has been significant expansion, especially in the Seoul area. The number of newspapers increased from 25 in 1984 to 122 twenty years later. In 20074, the country had 21 nationwide daily newspapers. Two of these – The Korea Herald (founded in 1953, circulation 2004: 150,000) and The Korea Times (founded in 1950, circulation 100,000) – are printed in English, one in Chinese. The largest are Chosun Ilbo (founded in 1920, circulation 2004: 2 470 000), Hankook Ilbo (founded in 1954, circulation approx. 2 million) and JoongAng Ilbo (founded in 1965, circulation approx. 2.3 million). Most newspapers are privately owned. Previously, the government imposed certain restrictions on the press, now only a few issues cannot be dealt with freely.
The state broadcaster broadcasts national and local radio programs. In addition, there are commercial radio networks and stations, many of which are run by Christian organizations. The US forces have been operating radio in Korea since 1950.
Television broadcasts started in 1961, and are run by the state broadcaster, three commercial companies and the US forces.
Mass media in North Korea
Mass media in North Korea is largely controlled by the state-carrying Communist Party, the Korean Labor Party. 10 of the country’s 12 newspapers are published by the state or party organizations, only five newspapers are published daily. The largest is the Communist Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun (Labor’s daily newspaper, circulation 2004: about 1.5 million). For three of the other daily newspapers, circulation figures are stated at from 120,000 to 300,000.
The North Korean state broadcast broadcasts national radio programs 22 hours a day supplemented by local broadcasts. Speakers are installed in factories and in public places in all cities. Programs are also broadcast in Arabic, English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Spanish and German intended abroad. The state-controlled three-channel television broadcasts cover most of the country.
Mass Media in Mongolia
There are no regular daily newspapers in Mongolia, but there are 6 national newspapers that are published regularly, some of them with over 300 issues a year. Previously, most of the newspapers were owned by the public, but in 1999 the newspapers were privatized. Privatization was not fully implemented. In 1990, the total newspaper circulation in the country was 134.1 million, in 2003 it had fallen to 18.5 million. The largest newspaper was formerly the Ünen, official body of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Party. In 1995, the circulation was 150,000, now it is down to 8330. It is published with 356 issues a year. The largest newspaper in 2003 was Ödriin Sonin (312 issues a year, circulation: about 14,200). In addition to the newspapers, there are a large number of publications that are published less frequently.
The state broadcasting company Mongol Radio was founded in 1934. It broadcasts in three channels, in Mongolian (two) and Kazakh. In addition, there are 30 private radio stations, and there are broadcasts in a variety of languages. The state television company Mongolteleviz started broadcasting in 1967, it has two-channel broadcasts that can be received in all the country’s district centers, but only one third of the population receives Mongolian television. In many places in Mongolia, it is possible to receive Russian television programs via satellite. In 1992, the first advertising-financed radio and television channel was created, which in addition to self-produced programs also broadcast extracts from foreign television channels. Mongolia now has 35 television stations, and a process has been initiated to liquidate state ownership of the national broadcasting companies.
Mass media in Taiwan
Taiwan is among the countries in Asia that have the freest conditions for media business. All of the country’s newspapers are privately owned and cover a wide range of views. In 1999, 367 newspapers were registered in Taiwan. Of these, several daily newspapers with circulation figures are higher than 500,000; the biggest ones are the capital newspapers China Times and United Daily News, both with circulation of around 1.2 million items. Most major newspapers are Chinese-language, but there are also several newspapers in English.
There are a number of radio channels in Taiwan, most of them privately owned commercial channels operated under public control. The oldest radio company, Broadcasting Corporation of China, was founded in 1928 and broadcasts six national, nine local and one international programs. The oldest television company, Taiwan Television Enterprise Ltd., was founded in 1962. In 2004, there were 63 cable companies in operation, and they covered approx. 85% of the receivers, the highest cable coverage in Asia. There were 132 satellite broadcast channels, operated by 60 national and 19 international companies and five national and three international digital TV companies. A non-commercial station, Public Television (PTV), was started in 1998.
