This is the second proposal for forming a Korean Indymedia center (IMC); it's a continuation of the first proposal which can be found at http://dopehead.net/board/view.php?id=imc&no=15 or on the indymedia docs site, http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Local/KoreaDoc002 .

On the Management of a Korean Indymedia Center

(English Translation)

In order to discuss how a Korean Indymedia Center should be formed we should first look at the ways other IMCs are managed.

IMC, independent from state and capital, is a grassroots alternative media network which stretches across the globe. So from where does it derive its strength? The answer can be found in the theory behind IMC's organization and management. There are currently over 140 local IMCs up and running around the globe and each local IMC is organized and managed with slight differences, adapting to the local situation. Even so we can still see a basic framework that the whole network holds in common. This framework is what I want to focus.

1. IMCs are not formed with a central governing body or hierarchical governing organs. Instead each local organization joins together with the network in solidarity under the principle of a "free union." IMC is not an organization that in order to spread its information and increase its role engages in the creation of subsidiary organization across the globe. Instead local independent activist determine for themselves the need for and role that a local IMC will take forming at truly horizontal network. This could be seen as a new form of internationalism.

IMC first started in 1999 and in a little over 5 years has grown into the worldwide network it is today. It's exactly this principle of a "free union" made up of "local grassroots activist joining together in a horizontal network" that has been the driving force behind this growth.

2. Therefore, IMCs aren't built from the top down but instead from the bottom up. Every local IMC brings their individual requirements and abilities together to form one network. This network in turn allows each local IMC to achieve more then any one could on their own. For example, it wasn't that the US Indymedia Center formed and then individual local centers branched out under it. Instead, local IMCs formed and then came together to create an even wider network. Like as spider web continually spinning, if we reach out and hold each other's hands we can form a huge net together.

3. The management of an IMC homepage also follows this principle. In Internet savvy Korea the functioning of open message boards is common knowledge. And the management of an IMC is very similar to that of an open message board. Individuals connecting to an IMC homepage can publish their own articles simply by writing them in the proper form and uploading them to the page. There is no editing group selecting what articles can or can't be published and there is no 'editor' who has the power to delete or modify articles that appear different from her own thoughts, position or point of view. Instead all those involved with the IMC together approve an open editorial policy that places a minimum of restrictions on article content. Therefore one organization wouldn't be able to use the IMC to exclude the posts of another organization and no one individual or group would be able to take total control.

In the first proposal we talked about the basic direction a Korean Indymedia Center would take. In Korea where alternative Internet media is already well developed a Korean IMC wouldn't have to duplicate those efforts by trying to fulfill all the roles of IMCs abroad. Instead it should focus on the strategic point of informing the many non-Korean speakers, both here and abroad, of current news concerning Korea's progressive movements.

These are the reasons why we need to establish a Korean indymedia center. The next step is to gather together the opinions of local activist in order to form an Editorial Policy. After that two people could handle all that is need for the upkeep and design of the webpage.

The most important work is to create a space where individuals can gather and post information from time to time on Korean progressive movements in English or other foreign languages. We believe that this space can be found embodied in the principle of a horizontal and voluntary "free message board."

Many Korean organizations have shown interest in the possibility of an indymedia center however; we don't feel that enough attention has been paid to the alternative and independent principles of organization embodied in an IMC. Starting with a center in Seoul each individual area in Korea would be able to create their own individual center. It is important to base a Korean Indymedia Center on the achievements of the Korean anti-globalization and alternative [media] discussion movements as well as the experience of diverse radical movements in Korea. And while doing this we can also follow the same methods for establishing and maintaining an IMC as are already worked out by IMCs across the globe.

Please give us your positive participation and solidarity.

Korean Indymedia Center Working Group

-- NevinD - 27 Apr 2005
to top