AJA and My Seven Sojourns in Korea
Asia Journalist Association (AJA), founded in 2004, is an international journalist association that operates under the motto of “One Line of Truth through Sweat and Blood” with the goal of fair reporting, protecting freedom of the press, and developing journalism. To commemorate its 20th anniversary, AJA is sharing special feature articles that look back on the association’s 20-year history and key events within the last 20 years in AJA member countries. THE AsiaN, an outlet based on the AJA network, is reporting 10 special articles marking the 20th anniversary of the founding of AJA every Tuesday and Friday starting April 15, 2025. – Editor’s note
As William Zinsser, a renowned American writer and journalist (1922-2015), once said ‘Memoir isn’t the summary of a life; it’s a window into a life’, I open a window and share some glimpses of my life – the life that I spent during my seven sojourns in the Republic of Korea as a member of Asia Journalists Association (AJA) during the last 17 years.
In these years, I have been to Korea seven times, and throughout all these years we, the AJA members, have remained connected, like the family members.
It was November 2, 2007, when I first received an invitation from AJA to join an annual general assembly in Seoul.
Visiting Korea was my decades-old dream, and it was finally going to become true.
In the late 1970s, I was impressed by the scenic beauty of Korea and the humbleness of the Korean people after watching several documentaries and meeting the envoys at the Consulate General of Korea in Karachi.
Being excited, I had acted promptly to get the visa, but I was granted it only on November 28, the day I had to fly to Seoul. The AJA General Assembly was scheduled on the evening of November 29.
During the long waiting days, Mr. Ryong Oh, then Secretary General of AJA, was in constant touch on the telephone both with me and with the Consulate officials in Karachi.When he learnt about the end of the ordeal and that I obtained the visa, he suggested that on arrival at Incheon Airport, I take a taxi to downtown Seoul, as the General Assembly would start by that time.
As soon as I reached the City Hall, I was welcomed warmly by the AJA friends – I use the word friends, because despite meeting them for the first time, I felt as if we were old friends reunited after a long time.
The friends I met first were Mr. Lee Sang-ki, AJA President, Mr. Ryong Oh, Secretary General, Mr. Ivan Lim of Singapore (Senior Vice President AJA), Mr. Eddy Suprarto from Indonesia, Ms. Norila Daud from Malaysia, Mr. Dolor Chuluunbaatar from Mongolia, Mr. Shafiqul Bashar from Bangladesh, Mr. Salayakanond Wirasak from Thailand, Mr. Brijesh Bhatia from India, AJA Director Cha Jae-Joon, Ms. Kelly and others, an American Korean journalist lady.
Mr. Hak Rae Choi, AJA Chairman, was the chief guest. The events on the first day featured different segments, including speeches, music, and comedy, but the most important one was the screening of a documentary on the life of a Japanese photo journalist Nagai Kenji who was shot dead in Burma by a soldier when he was covering the pro-democracy rally.
The first day ended with the exchange of gifts and performance of a group of artists who performed a song with the theme of ‘Love, Peace and Friendship in Asia’.
The next day, the AJA family proceeded to Manhae Village, visiting the Samsung Innovation Complex on the way.
The night stay was arranged at Manhae Inn, where the AJA conference was held to discuss the media situation in our respective countries.
Early in the morning, we left for Baekdam Temple, located at Seorak Mountain, and spent a day holding meetings in a hall of temple on AJA affairs, including the election of office bearers for the next two years.
Later, we enjoyed the traditional Buddhist lunch hosted by the Chief Monk Mr. Samjo, who briefed us about the life and literary works of Monk Manhae, who fought against Japan for the freedom of Korea. Before leaving, we had a detailed visit to Manhae Museum adjacent to Manhae Inn.
Our next destination was Gangneung, a coastal cultural city on the East Coast, which was recognized as World Heritage. We also visited another coastal city Naksan of Gangwon province, ancient homes, temples, and museums.
My second visit to Korea was in October 2008. During the visit that began on October 6, I had the opportunity to meet old as well as new friends.
This time, AJA had invited more than 30 journalists from various countries including Hong Kong, Iran, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Nepal, Mexico, Philippine, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, China, Japan, Bhutan, Kuwait and other Middle East countries.
My new friends, with whom our bond of friendship proved long lasting, included Brother Ashraf Aboul Yazid from Egypt, Ms. Pooneh Nedai from Iran, Ms. Rasha Abdellah from the UAE, Brother Pramod Mathur from India (who passed away in June 2020 during the Corona outbreak), Ms. Alin Ferrer from the Philippines (who passed away in June 2024), and many others.
This year the entire group visited different places in various cities but the night stay at Baekdam Temple was memorable. We also visited the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where a declaration for peace and unity was issued with signatures of all the delegates.
Unfortunately, there was a long break afterwards, and I couldn’t visit Korea for personal reasons. However, in 2013, I sent my journalist son Rahul Aijaz to represent me in the AJA meetings as well as in the World Journalist Conference organized by the Journalists Association of Korea.
Later, in 2015, Rahul also worked for about 18 months at the AJA headquarters in Seoul for THE AsiaN and Magazine N, for which I had been contributing from the beginning.
My visits to Korea resumed in 2016. For three consecutive years I attended AJA meetings as well as World Journalists Conferences.
In 2019, Rahul Aijaz again attended the JAK World Journalists Conference on the recommendations of AJA.
In 2016, AJA elected Mr. Ashraf Aboul Yazid as its new President. He is a renowned scholar, writer, poet, travelogue, novelist and journalist from Egypt, and has three dozen books to his credit. He is also the winner of Manhae Prize of Korea.
Two other trips took place in November 2022 and April-May 2024, organized solely by AJA. In 2022, the conference was organized in Busan while in 2024, AJA took its members to Baengnyeong, the northernmost island of South Korea in the West Sea, and arranged tours to different places that included the Sudokwon Landfill site (a world-class example on how to use breakthrough ideas to deal efficiently with waste and benefit from it), a Women’s University in Incheon, and Miracle OK Language School in Pocheon City.
The AJA family came into being thanks to Mr. Lee Sang-Ki, the founder President of AJA, who not only provided an opportunity to all the members to be connected, but also turned AJA into a bridge between the countries of Asia and beyond.
Thanks to the events hosted by AJA headquarters, I have been to Korea seven times so far, and I have gained new experiences that I could not have in my home country.
One of the main reasons AJA has been able to continue as a family for so long is the precious memories that journalists from various countries have been able to share under the banner of AJA.
(To be continued)
Related Articles: Asia Journalist Association 20th anniversary special feature articles – THE AsiaN
AJA born of a meeting of minds – THE AsiaN
