Discussion
On March 20, 2026, the commemorative lecture for the winners of the 10th Hakbong Award in the Media Reporting Category was held at the Kwanhoon Club in Jongno-gu, Seoul. With around 25 participants of various age groups, including the award recipients, in attendance, the lecture began with an introduction to the Hakbong Award and an overview of the Media Reporting Category by LEE Yeon-hyeon, Chairman of the Hakbong Scholarship Foundation. Then, Professor Emeritus JEONG Jae-jeong at the University of Seoul, briefly introduced the award-winning works and the judges’ comments.
Next, 20-minute lectures were given in sequence by the team of LEE Myeong-deok, LEE So-jeong, KIM Hyo-jun, and HWANG Jeong-yeon (BTN Buddhist TV PD, writer, and director of photography), winners of this year’s Excellence Award, on the documentary "Gwanwoldang Returns: Opening the Door to 100 Years"; by ISHIAI Tsutomu (editorial writer at Asahi Shimbun) on the serialized feature "To the Field! Dreams Pinned on the Joseon Tongsinsa (現場へ！朝鮮通信使にかける夢)"; and by the team of OH Ye-jin, MAENG Seo-hyeon, IM Myeong-hui, and AN Hyo-jin (KBS Chuncheon PD and writer) on the documentary "Exchange Journey 1945."
The first lecture was presented by BTN PD LEE Myeong-deok on behalf of the team under the theme, "Until Gwanwoldang Returned: Stories Left Untold." While sharing previously unreleased footage that could not be fully included in the documentary, LEE showed the multilayered aspects of Korea-Japan exchange that took place during the production process. In connection with this, a Q&A session was held on how the returned Gwanwoldang would be managed in the future. Next, the lecture by Asahi Shimbun editorial writer ISHIAI Tsutomu was conducted in Japanese. Beginning with how he came to form a connection with Korea, ISHIAI introduced how his experience being posted to the Middle East and Eastern Europe to cover international conflicts was connected to this serialized feature on the Joseon Tongsinsa, after which the Q&A session proceeded with consecutive interpretation between Korean and Japanese. Lastly, KBS Chuncheon PD OH Ye-jin gave a lecture under the theme, "Reconciliation of Memory: Korean and Japanese Youth in 1945." She shared vivid photos and videos from the field, including the process of selecting the students who participated in the program, as well as the most difficult and the most rewarding aspects of carrying out the journey of producing the documentary.
