The Viewers Media Foundation announced on the 13th that it will hold its ’10th Anniversary Ceremony’ at the foundation’s Seoul Viewers Media Center on the 14th at 2 p.m. The ceremony will be attended by 250 people, including the Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission Lee Jin-sook, the foundation’s Chairman Choi Chul-ho, citizens using 12 national viewer media centers, media education instructors, and staff members. The event will proceed with congratulatory remarks, commemorative speeches, the proclamation of a 2035 vision, awards for long-serving employees, and the screening of a time-lapse video.
Chairman Choi Chul-ho will announce a future vision of growth as a “global media education institution with exceptional expertise and public nature, surpassing its role as a leading institution in domestic media education.”
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the foundation has outlined seven innovative tasks based on the results of a perception survey conducted with 1,000 citizens, including expanding quality media education accessible to everyone, anywhere, at any time; supporting the correct and safe media capabilities in line with technological advancements like AI; expanding nationwide media service infrastructure; protecting media rights and supporting media opportunities for vulnerable groups; expanding overseas media education; establishing a systematic policy foundation for media education; and strengthening expertise and public nature.
Starting with five centers in May 2015, the foundation now operates 12 centers across metropolitan areas and plans to build four additional centers by 2027. Over the past decade, the number of users of the viewer media centers has increased from 438,000 to 1,164,000, and the number of media education participants has grown from 114,000 to 511,000.
To bridge the gap for media-disadvantaged groups, 292,000 customized TVs for the visually and hearing impaired have been distributed, achieving a cumulative distribution rate of 45.1%. The foundation also supports the production of viewer participation programs, protects viewing rights, and fosters a fair competitive environment in the broadcasting market to enhance media capabilities and protect the rights of all citizens.
In its 10th anniversary, the foundation held media experiences and special lectures using new technologies like AI, deepfake, and VR/AR at 12 viewer media centers nationwide for three weeks starting in late April.
Additionally, a media education policy forum will be held on June 23 to explore the direction of domestic and international media education in the digital media era and strengthen the foundation’s function and role as a specialized public organization for media education.