Koryo Ilbo

Koryo Ilbo
border
Front page showcasing 100th anniversary
(31 March 2023)
TypeWeekly newspaper
Owner(s)Korean Association of Kazakhstan
Editor-in-chiefKonstantin Kim[1]
Founded1 March 1923
Political alignment
LanguageKorean
Russian
HeadquartersAlmaty, Kazakhstan
Circulation2,000 copies
Websitekoreilbo.com

The Koryo Ilbo[a] is a newspaper published in Korean and Russian from Almaty, Kazakhstan, for Koryo-saram: ethnic Koreans of the former Soviet Union. First published in 1923 as the March 1 Newspaper, it changed its name to Sŏnbong, then to Lenin Kichi in 1938, and finally to Koryo Ilbo after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It is notable for being one of the oldest Korean-language newspapers and the oldest active outside of the Korean peninsula, having celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023. It was also for decades the only Korean-language newspaper with nationwide availability in the Soviet Union and a significant promoter of the literature of Koryo-saram, during a period when regional languages were suppressed by the government.

The newspaper is also a significant source for the study of the Korean diaspora, the Korean language, the Korean independence movement, the Korean War, and Korean literature.

It had a circulation of around 40,000 during its peak around the 1970s and 1980s, but due to falling numbers of ethnic Koreans able to speak Korean, now publishes around 2,000 copies and is largely supported by the Association of Koreans in Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Culture, Information, and Communication of Kazakhstan.

  1. ^ Kim, Sang-wook (27 February 2023). "'한반도 밖 가장 오래된 한글신문' 고려일보 100주년 맞았다" [Koryo Ilbo, the oldest Korean newspaper outside the Korean Peninsula, celebrates its 100th anniversary]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Almaty, Kazakhstan. Retrieved 12 April 2023.


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