First In The World

Every two or three weeks, South Korean newspapers and television networks come up with a report that someone or some group in the country have invented or discovered something or scored a big breakthrough in research for the “first time in the world.” Such great feats, I notice, usually take place in the medical and pharmaceutical or other scientific fields.

The key word here, of course, is “the first in the world.” And if these claims were correct, one would think that they would naturally draw some attention from the rest of the world. But they have seldom been picked up by the foreign press and reported around the world, much less drawn any reaction, pro or con.

This means that claims like that are either incorrect, or insignificant but exaggerated. And yet, we are fed such reports so often that we seem to accept it naturally and even feel proud of being fellow Koreans who are “leading the world” in so many areas.

But I wonder why our newspapers and televisions are so fond of affixing the phrase, “the first in the world,” onto developments when they are not sure if what they are reporting is, indeed, the first in the world.

Are the reporters and editors part of a scheme—knowingly or unknowingly—to publicize a development and help jack up the stock price of a concerned firm or some such thing? In this connection, incidentally, I recall that 10 editorial staff members of a newspaper in Seoul were being investigated on suspicion of taking bribes in exchange for publishing great reviews of a Korean movie. After all, money means almost everything in Korea, and there are a great many people who would do anything to make it.

Or, do they simply go along with the claim of being “the world’s first,” or “best” just to brag about how great we are? Those reporters and editors probably feel that it is their patriotic duty to help hype the achievements, big or small, of their fellow countrymen and women.

Or, maybe, the need to exaggerate what they are reporting is in their journalistic blood so that they unconsciously blow up the content of their reports unnecessarily, without thinking about the possible effects and consequences.

Examples abound in all fields. The Korean musical, “The Last Empress,” was reported by Korean newspapers to have taken New York’s Broadway by storm a few years back when it was staged amid “rave reviews” and to “great applause” from New York’s sophisticated theatergoers. The Korean musical was so well done that there was a strong possibility of it becoming a long-running Broadway show, according to Korean press reports at that time. But we all know what happened to “The Last Empress.”

Similarly in sports, a number of Korean professional baseball players were invited to a Major League spring-training camp in the United States. And the Korean press reported that Korean players wowed Major League coaches and trainers with their power-hitting and brilliant pitching during exhibition games.

The Korean players were so impressive, in fact, that scouts and management people of some Major League clubs practically slavered over them, the dispatches said. But what happened to them when the spring training ended? Most of them packed their stuff and came home to play here.

These types of exaggerated reports on scientific, cultural and sporting activities are relatively harmless, compared with the public statements on the nation’s economy or diplomacy issued by our national leaders and Government officials that are based on speculation or hopes.

Luckily, because of the extremely shortness of memory on the part of our general public, reporters and editors as well as government officials seem to be able to get away with their exaggerated or inaccurate reports and statements. Indeed, most us can hardly remember what we read or heard a few days ago. And our newspapers and television networks seldom follow the basic journalistic practice of filing follow-up reports.

But we must remember such irresponsible reporting and official pronouncements have a way of coming back to dash our hopes and expectations as the truth is bound to come out sooner or later.
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