JoonAng Group’s Changhee Park on future-proofing a publisher

What have been the growth/encouragement areas for you in your media company in the last year?

Despite many challenges domestically and internationally in 2024, we had important moments of progress. Three new business ventures we had been developing for years started to show stability. There is still a long way to go, but now we believe in our future. Our key new business initiatives are:

1. Last-mile delivery business: Unlike courier services that handle nationwide deliveries, we focus on the final step – getting packages from a logistics hub to customers. We launched this in 2021, using 24 newspaper delivery hubs in Seoul. By last year, we had expanded to 12 million deliveries annually. Over the past five years, delivery volume has grown by 140% per year.

2. OOH advertising: OOH refers to media like digital billboards and bus ads. The government opened up new advertising zones in Seoul, aiming to create a Times Square-like hub. We quickly invested in prime locations and attracted advertisers leaving print media. Now, OOH makes up 20% of our total ad revenue.

3. Paid digital content subscriptions: Most newspapers worldwide are pursuing this, but in Korea, we are the only one. Naver, a major portal website, acts as a massive news aggregator buys news from all Korean media and offers it for free. This makes it hard to sell news directly to consumers. To counter this, we created "The JoongAng Plus," an exclusive content platform outside of Naver. Three years in, we have over 100,000 paid subscribers.

Innovation and strategy. Can you share any innovative strategies your organization is implementing?

These projects were born out of crisis. Delivery and advertising are the two main pillars of a newspaper, but both have been under threat for years.

Korea’s delivery system posed a unique challenge. In the past, over 70% of households subscribed to newspapers, similar to Japan or Northern Europe. Papers had to be delivered before 6 am, requiring an efficient system. But as subscriptions fell, the cost of maintaining this network became unsustainable. Even combining delivery with other newspapers was not enough to solve the problem.

So, we made bold decisions. Instead of following industry norms, we took a different approach. Many believed a delivery business needed advanced IT systems and large logistics centers before scaling up. We disagreed. We invested in infrastructure only when profitability justified it. Our decades of experience in newspaper delivery helped us build a flexible, efficient service.

In Seoul, 1,500 delivery workers use the hours between midnight and 6 am – outside of newspaper delivery times – to offer same-day, next-day and Sunday delivery services. This has given us a 99.8% on-time delivery rate, making us a strong competitor.

Meanwhile, as newspaper readership declined, advertisers left too. Digital ads from big tech companies took over, making print ads less attractive. We knew we could not compete with tech giants in digital advertising. Instead, we focused on OOH, targeting high-end brands. Rather than chasing mass ad sales, we built a premium advertising space. This strategy worked – JoongAng’s OOH platform is now seen as a top-tier advertising channel.

How is your relationship with the big tech platforms and social media giants?

The debate over whether they are friends or foes is outdated. They have a stranglehold on us, and these platforms dictate our survival strategies.

In Korea, Naver plays this role. Practically all Korean media outlets supply news to Naver and receive payment in return. But this revenue stream is not a long-term growth driver. A policy change from Naver could cut off this revenue overnight. Moreover, Naver does not share first-party data, which media companies need to build sustainable business models.

Leaving Naver may appear to be the logical answer, but the risks are high. Without Naver, traffic drops immediately, leading to revenue decline. The majority of Koreans access their news through Naver, and leaving it is like leaving the newsstand — many Koreans might just forget that a media outlet exists. While the revenue from Naver is not substantial, it is difficult to walk away from.

In the end, we must acknowledge reality while boldly preparing for the future. Big tech operates in an entirely different league. We must learn from them, leverage their strengths, and — when the time is right — develop the capability to operate independently.

Brand building. What are the key elements of building a strong brand in today’s market?

A media brand is built over time through its journalism – the work of its reporters and editors. A strong brand is essential for survival, especially in an age of information overload.

Think of a strong brand like a great restaurant. It needs fresh ingredients (new stories), an understanding of customer preferences (reader interests), skilled chefs (storytelling expertise) and consistency. It must also stand out from its competitors. In media, this means breaking new stories, maintaining a clear editorial stance and constantly improving.

If we communicate these efforts effectively, we can earn readers’ trust and loyalty.

Events. What do you do in this space?

We do not hold events just for the sake of it. Instead, we connect them to our digital subscription strategy. If we create a strong lineup of anticipated events, we can make our membership program more attractive.

Through our work in digital subscriptions, we learned that daily news – especially in this market – is hard to monetize. It is everywhere, so people do not feel the need to pay for it. But when premium content is highly targeted, a loyal audience can be created. When we link great events to this content, subscriptions grow.

We are planning high-profile events focused on quality over quantity. One major highlight this year is an exclusive exhibition of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work, never before shown in Korea. Another is a collaboration between the Paris Orchestra, conducted by Klaus Mäkelä, and Korea’s top pianist, Lim Yunchan. We are exploring unique benefits for our subscribers and believe these events will strengthen our brand.

Later this year we are also holding the JoongAng Global Media Conference, which marks our 60th anniversary as a group. Through this conference we aim to bring ideas and best practices from around the world to boost the local industry, as well as showcasing the breadth of the Korean media industry with talks from top media executives, film producers, K-pop stars and more.

How do you reach younger audiences in 2025?

Younger people do not dislike newspapers – but they are not interested in them. In many ways, this is more harmful than actively disliking them. That said, changing our entire news production to match their habits is not the right answer. Our strength remains in text-based journalism.

Instead of forcing young audiences to read long articles, we first need to make our brand more familiar to them. This year, we will use a donation campaign we have run for 20 years, where celebrities donate items for charity auctions. To attract younger audiences, we will invite stars they admire and turn it into a donation relay campaign.

Rather than relying on print coverage, we will promote the campaign aggressively on Instagram, YouTube and through short-form video. The auction will take place as a pop-up store in areas that young people frequent. This way, we can reach younger people without changing our core identity.

Overview of the state of the advertising market, adapting efforts to any decline

Digital is dominant. A decade ago, digital advertising accounted for 28% of the total market; last year, it had grown to 58%. Meanwhile, broadcasting has shrunk significantly, dropping from 41.4% to 22.7% over the same period. The newspaper market, while declining, has fared better than broadcast, decreasing from 15.7% to 9.3% in the past ten years.

Print newspapers lost their competitive edge long ago. However, this was an anticipated challenge, not a cause for despair. A decline in readership does not mean advertisers’ budgets have disappeared. If space does not sell, new services must be developed and offered.

Every advertiser knows us. As a media organisation, we wield influence. This influence is a major asset in building a large, loyal, and profitable network.

However, influence alone is insufficient. We need the right tools — competitive platforms that capture advertisers’ interest, like the OOH (Out-of-Home) platform that JoongAng Ilbo operates. Strategic, proactive decision-making is essential.

An internal team dedicated to content planning from a corporate perspective strengthens collaboration with advertisers. JoongAng Ilbo has had such a team for over a decade – our in-house branded content unit, “Innovation Lab.” This unit generates 50% more revenue than our overall digital advertising revenue.

Sales team: Do you see a future where new structure, new approaches, and new skill sets are required?

Ultimately, it is about people. As the landscape becomes more complex, the competence of the sales team is more crucial than ever. Beyond sales ability, a deep understanding of marketing is crucial. Salespeople must arm themselves with a new language and framework.

They must be able to think above advertisers, to challenge and impress them with powerful ideas. JoongAng Ilbo’s strong relationships with high-end advertisers are not just because of our premium OOH platform. Creative planning, supported by imagination and execution, has been key.

Two years ago, Louis Vuitton held its Pre-Fall fashion show on Jamsu Bridge across the Han River in central Seoul, based on a proposal put forward by JoongAng Ilbo. This summer, we are planning a men’s fashion show with Hermes.

Given such initiatives, it is only natural that luxury brands allocate a significant portion of their marketing budgets to us.

How do you sell print (as part of an overall portfolio proposal)?

Absolutely. While the preference for newspaper advertising has declined, this does not mean advertisers entirely dismiss the value of text. The real challenge is setting up communication touch-points with advertisers and proposing new approaches.

Our relationships with high-end advertisers, built through OOH, extend beyond OOH itself. Through discussions, we have created custom magazines tailored to advertisers’ needs, which has led to high-value newspaper wrap advertising deals. This was a rediscovery of the newspaper advertising space.

Are you able to share what percentage of your revenue comes from advertising, subscriptions, and other sources?

Advertising still constitutes a significant portion – 43% of our total revenue. Content sales, including newspaper subscriptions, account for 20%, events for 3%, and other businesses, such as printing services, makeup 34%.

Over the next three years, we expect new business ventures to drive revenue growth by over 44%. By then, we anticipate advertising will remain at 43%, content sales will decline to 14%, events will stay at 3%, and other businesses will rise to 40%.

Key growth drivers will be OOH and last-mile delivery.

Is A.I. having a major impact on your business? In what ways?

For many Korean media companies, AI is still an ambiguous challenge — not because the shockwave is distant, but because the landscape is unclear. Most have yet to establish even the fundamentals of first-party data monetization.

While media companies receive requests to provide articles for AI training, many have no clear strategy on whether to comply, whom to provide content to, what compensation to demand, or in what format to supply it.

We are further along that journey than the majority of our local competitors, but the challenges we all face are still very real.

AI will bring a seismic shift far beyond the digital and mobile revolutions. Could it be an opportunity? Possibly. But it is more likely to be an overwhelming challenge.

Only a select few media companies with the strongest brand power may retain their influence.

Future of media overall: How do you envision the media landscape over the next decade? What role will traditional media play?

If we predict the future of media through the lens of AI, the outlook is grim.

Regardless of how AI arranges information, consumers’ direct access to original sources will likely diminish. Even without click-through barriers, fewer people will visit individual media outlets.

This means the direct connection between media brands and users will disappear. In such an environment, media brands risk fading into irrelevance. Who provided the information will matter less and less.

The reality is stark — people are busy, and information overload is real. Increasingly, many will be content with well-structured summaries rather than seeking out full articles. It is not unrealistic to imagine that within two generations, a single, monopolistic information distribution system could emerge.

In this environment, traditional media must strive to make direct access to their content more valuable than AI-generated alternatives. Whether achievable or not, the goal must be to build a content and brand experience so strong that consumers actively choose to engage with us rather than filtered AI outputs.

Any comfort and words of wisdom for the news industry looking ahead?

There’s no sugar-coating the fact that the future looks difficult, but that doesn’t mean it’s fatal.

Legacy media companies have legacy for a reason. We’ve survived for decades in often hostile market conditions, ridden the waves of financial crisis and digital revolution and still retained loyal audiences that rely on us to deliver true and accurate news in an increasingly complex world.

That remains as important now as it ever has been.

Challenges like AI, monetization, changing advertising structures, appealing to younger audiences, beating the algorithms and staying on top of SEO are all serious risks, but they’re also opportunities. That’s not something unfamiliar. We’ve always faced risk — those of us who are still here have obviously navigated those previous challenges well enough.

Flexibility is key. Our delivery and OOH businesses are both out-of-the-box approaches to services that newspapers have always provided, just in a very different way. That kind of thinking is going to be key. So I don’t agree when people say things like “forget everything you’ve ever known about running a media company” – I think it’s quite the opposite: Remember it all, learn from it, but be ready to change and adapt.

More about Mark Challinor: Mark is a commercial and media advertising strategist. He recently led the International News Media Association’s (INMA.org) Advertising Initiative (the news industry’s deeper dive into media advertising). He has also been European and global president of INMA. He produces a monthly Future of Media Advertising newsletter on Linkedin, as well as running an advertising committee made up of senior executives from across the world’s media. Mark is now CEO of News Media UK Consulting. Follow Mark on X: @challinor and LinkedIn.Digital media consultant Mark Challinor continues the News Horizons series by talking to the people shaping tomorrow’s media.

Last week we spoke to Joao Pereira, commercial director of Publico.