'Memory, History, and Recovery': Journalism in Madrid 2018

Mingu Cho Start Date: Mar 8, 2018 - End Date: Jun 5, 2018
  • Cultural Exchange
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Professional Development
  • Madrid, 스페인

My Travel Story

by: Mingu Cho Start Date: Mar 8, 2018 - End Date: Jun 5, 2018
  • Cultural Exchange
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Professional Development
Is it only the deluge of information nowadays that should be defined as a challenge to journalism worldwide? While the quantity of news has significantly increased in the last decade, with the development of social media and online news platforms, the information that is chosen and transferred to the people is still bound by political, economic, and even hierarchical restraints. It is an indisputable fact that still, Western media is the main conveyor of news worldwide and many stories in less well-known areas are left untold, or at the best exoticized as being ‘others.’
At the same time, it is news or efforts of journalists that overcomes such hierarchy or dichotomy, as can be seen from the media disclosure of recent political corruption in South Korea that led to the impeachment of former President. Moreover, it was the collaboration of Western and Korean journalists decades ago that made the dictatorship of Korea known to the world and gain international support for the country’s democratization. Hence, while news can be a means to coerce, if used legitimately, it becomes an immensely powerful tool to uproot the hierarchy and engender changes to millions of people.
Recently, having begun to study in NYUAD, a global institution that gathers students from 110 different countries, I was able to learn how journalism is affected by (also affects) different cultural factors, such as religion, gender, and ethnicity. At the same time, I was able to burgeon my focus of journalistic pursuits from politics to culture and arts, thanks to the diversity I was exposed to.
At ROOSTERGNN’s Internship in Madrid, I would specifically like to learn how different cultures of journalism in each delegate’s country can complement each other, and together devise a future of news that respects difference, discovers similarities, and empowers the younger generation.

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‘Memory, History, and Recovery’

During my internship in Madrid, I would like to take an anthropological approach to understand and viscerally experience the aftermath of the civilians’ executions during and after the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) brought to the people, particularly those who are alive at the moment. To understand the contemporary engagement with the past’s violence, I would like to explore landmarks of exhumations, conduct fieldwork based on extensive research, and interview people who share and understand the memory.
The piece will also attempt to draw the history (and recovery) of Spanish people to others’ experiences elsewhere, mainly South Korea, as it went through government’s politicide to the public. Such comparison is intended to highlight how ‘Memory, History, and Recovery’ is a common theme and topic of debate in other seemingly disparate cultures. At the same time, it will serve to highlight the distinct culture or heritage of Spain, as the country will be a focus of fieldwork and experiential learning throughout the seminar.
Along with the research, interview, and writing that will attempt at multicultural approach to a country’s history, I would like to explore popular culture and the arts that adhere to the theme, or the title of my piece. In doing so, I would be able to create a catalogue (blogs or a series of articles) that can cater to tourists coming to Madrid who would like to go beyond ‘tourism,’ or pursue conscious travelling. Even before that, I believe that my approach for internship seminar will guide me in knowing more about Spain, its people, and above anything else, journalism.
  • Madrid, 스페인