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Korea’s Training Programs for Publishers Today and Tomorrow

 

2021.02.08

 

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1. The early establishment of educational organizations for cultivating talented publishers

 

The paradigm surrounding planning, editing, producing, and marketing in the publishing market is changing with the rapid transformation of the publishing environment. With the coexistence of the old and modern trends in the market (e-books & paper books or audiobooks, analog & digital, and traditional media & smart media), “publishing” has become a key medium for developing and bridging new content. As we are living in the era of a cultural economy based on knowledge-intensive industries that create original content for the cultural content industry, cultivating talented publishers that are capable of understanding the attributes of content and consumers’ desires has become a key factor in developing the publishing industry.
Considering this trend, the importance of training publishers should be emphasized greater than ever before. However, the situation in Korea is flowing in the opposite direction. Private colleges in Korea are changing the name of departments teaching publishing or resizing the overall curriculum. The first organization for nurturing publishers was the publishing major set up in the special graduate school of Chung-Ang University in the early 1980s. Also, the establishment of the publishing department at Shingu College in 1988 marked the beginning of training programs dedicated to fostering publishers. Numerous majors related to publishing have been set up in other colleges since then. However, those remaining today are the Department of E-Book, an interdisciplinary course with the Department of Digital Content Creation, at Semyung University, and the Department of Media Publishing at Seoil University. For graduate schools, there are only 6 schools providing relevant courses: Konkuk University Graduate School of Mass Communication & Public Relations (Digital Publishing & Magazine), Kyung Hee University Graduate School of Journalism & Communication (Publishing & Copyrights), Dongguk University Graduate School of Communication & Information (Publishing & Magazine), Sogang University Graduate School of Mass Communication (Journalism & Publishing), Chung-Ang University Graduate School of Mass Communication (Publication & Media Content), and Hanyang University Graduate School of Journalism & Mass Communication (Newspaper, Magazine & Publishing).

 

With publishing becoming a key medium for developing and bridging new content, the importance of cultivating publishers has increased more than before.

 

Apart from these official educational organizations, institutions including Hankyoreh Culture Center, Korea Publishers Society, and the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea are also running courses for preparatory schools and publishers providing practical programs they can relate to in the field.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has announced four 5-year plans for the promotion and development of the publishing and printing industries since 2003, where the first plan implemented between 2003 and 2007 pushed forward the “establishment of industry-academia cooperation system for publishing and greater support for specialized education” in a bid to lay out the foundation for producing publication content and nurture professionals. The second plan (2007-2011) focused on “reviewing the establishment of a graduate school specialized in publishing to foster professional human resources while developing and distributing educational materials to cultivate professional talents in the relevant field." The fourth plan (2017-2021) centered on supporting the establishment of “Korea Publishing School (tentative)” (privately owned) and a graduate school for publishing, not to mention running programs for training globally-competitive publishers. However, regardless of such policy efforts, no visible outcome has yet been made.

 

2. Training Programs for Publishers Outside Government Policies

 

1) The Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA) - Publishing Academy

The Publishing Academy was established to promote the continuous development of the publishing industry and to reinforce the capabilities of professionals and the competence of publishers. It opens classes for publishers working in companies (requires them to have employment insurance) that signed an agreement with the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA).
Sixteen-hour courses are provided free of charge for around 25 students. Major courses are Planning (Practice – Planning and Editing Publications, Understanding Contracts and Research Copyright Conflicts, Cultivate Export Specialists, and Analyzing Convergence Cases of Multiple Content), Marketing (Publishing Strategies for Children’s Books, Publishing Marketing Seen from Business Models and Cases, and Planning Brand Strategies), and e-publishing (Understanding and Utilizing E-Publishing Platforms and Fostering Audiobook Experts).

* Go to Publishing Academy (Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA)

 

2) The Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA) – Digital Book Center

To meet the demands of the publishing industry and to strengthen the working capacities of future publishers, the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA) has established a "one-stop" support system that provides help for producing e-books, consultations, and training. Also, the organization rents out its facilities, including the recording and editing studios, to promote the audiobook industry. It strives to introduce innovative content and business models that have been applied to publications with the development of technology to Korean publishers, and contribute to the development of the publishing industry by organizing space for exhibition and experience programs to help readers have continuous interest in e-books through new content.

* Go to Digital Book Center (Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA)

 

3) Daegu Publishing Industry Support Center – Publication & Printing School

The Daegu Publishing Industry Support Center runs “Daegu Publication/Printing School” to nurture professional publishers and reinforce the competitiveness of the local publishing and printing industry. Anyone interested is asked to check the notices on the official website as the schedule and details of each course change every year. Those already working as publishers, to-be publishers, and residents can apply for a course they like, and the tuition is free of charge. Each course is open for a maximum of 24 students. As of 2019, the School opened courses related to fostering publishing/printing startups, planning and marketing for publications, and producing children’s books (picture books).

* Go to Publication & Printing School (Daegu Publishing Industry Support Center)

 

4) Hankyoreh Education – Publishing School

The Hankyoreh Education & Culture Center, established in 1995, has been training publishers through courses that boost the capacities of publishers in fields such as planning, marketing, and revision from its early stage. With the name changed to Hankyoreh Education, the organization mainly offers courses including the H-Academy, Journalism School, Writing & Translating School, Publishing School, On & Live, and customized training programs for companies. Amongst them all, the Publishing School provides multiple lectures covering Book Makers, planning, editing, printing, production, marketing, and operation.

* Go to Publishing School (Hankyoreh Education)

 

5) Korea Publishers Society - Seoul Book Institute (SBI)

The Seoul Book Institute (SBI) is an educational organization that aims to bolster publishers’ professional attitudes and healthy work ethics. It was established with a foundation fund from 18 publishers, including Gimmyoung, Munhakdonge, and Sakyejul Publishing Ltd., and a special accounts subsidy for promoting reading culture, and donations from 67 publishers.
The institute was designated as the operator of the Seoul Publishing Pre-School, a part of the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Training Consortium. The first class of the pre-school completed the course (for editors and marketers) in 2006. Also, the institute published 7 self-developed materials (Introduction to Editing, Correction & Revision, Production, Marketing, Roles of a Head Editor, Copyrights, and Startups). In 2010, it further developed 7 materials (Introduction to Correction & Revision of Publications, Theory of Design for Publishing, Design Book A, Design Book B, Book Planning, Specialized Editors for Children’s Books, and Online Marketing of Publications), including information and useful advice relevant to various educational content relevant for the changing publishing environment.
Seoul Book Institute (SBI) run by the Korea Publishers Society, provides 3 courses: Course for Pre-Publishers, Performance-building Course for Publishers, and General Training Course.

 

(1) Course for Pre-Publishers

Category Content
Goal(s)
  1. Creative and future-oriented education to adapt to the changing publishing environment
  2. Field-centered training with an emphasis on case studies while trying to creatively combine theory and field
  3. Professional training to broaden the perspective on publishing and upgrade skills with top expert professors
  4. Training to strengthen the healthy professional spirit and work ethics as publishers
Course(s)
  1. Publishing Editor
  2. Publishing Marketer
  3. Publishing Designer
Session(s)
  1. Over 6 months in total
  2. 798 hours of training
  3. 7 hours a day (9:30 – 17:30)
Schedule
  1. March: Recruitment Announcement
  2. April: Test (Documentary Checkup, Written Test, Interview)
  3. May: Start of the course
  4. October: Presentation & Completion of the course / Employed
    (Each student is required to be employed within 3 months after finishing the course)
Screening
Process

1. Publishing Editor
- Submit a letter of self-introduction and a book portfolio
- Written exam (Korean language 60 min. + Essay 110 min.)
- Interview

2. Publishing Marketer
- Assignment (a letter of self-introduction, reader analysis, recent trend analysis, etc.)
- Interview

3. Publishing Designer
- A letter of self-introduction
- Portfolio
- Interview

 

As of December 2020, the overall average acceptance rate was 4.7% (7.2% for the editors’ course (24 applicants admitted), 3.3% for the marketers’ course (22 applicants admitted), and 2.4% for the designers’ course (22 applicants admitted)). The average rate of students finishing the course was 98.2% for the editors’ course, 98.3% for the marketers’ course, and 95.2% for the designers’ course. The overall average was 97.4%. Among the students who have complete the course, an overall average of 87.1% got a job in the publishing industry (average of 89.2% in the editors’ course, 91.3% in the marketers’ course, and 78.3% in the designers’ course). A total of 791 students among 908 graduates are actively working in the publishing industry.

 

(2) Performance-building Course for Publishers

This course consists of planning, editing, marketing, designing, and producing publications and content related to e-books. A regular course and a special course (100 books & 100 lectures, publishing conference, etc.) are run throughout the year.

 

Curriculum Roadmap of Seoul Book Institute

 

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* Parts of the curriculum are subject to change or may be canceled due to changing demand and instructors’ schedules each year.

 

(3) General Training Course

The best example of this course is “Introductory Course for Editors”. The course has classes for 3 hours a week (45 hours in total), and the admission is open several times throughout the year. It is mainly for undergraduates interested in the publishing market or those working in the field.

 

Seoul Book Institute’s “Introductory Course for Editors”
Main Contents
  • Understanding inner networks of publishers and the surrounding environment
  • Advertising published books
  • Receive manuscripts, communicate with authors
  • Process content – correction & revision
  • Set up the first proposal and the major concept
  • Understanding copyrights and publication rights in the digital era
  • Planning and editing foreign books
  • Make a presentation of the first proposal, set up plans for manuscripts, and edited scripts (workshop)
  • Understanding book covers and inner designs
  • Build the structure of the manuscripts, edit the scripts
  • Set up the second proposal, read and understand the manuscripts
  • Status and prospects of online and offline bookstores
  • Create the final proposal for the new title, choose a title
  • Production – Understanding types of paper, printing, and bookbinding
  • Workshop (Make presentations of the final proposal)
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    * Go to Seoul Book Institute (Korea Publishers Society)

     

    Overseas programs for publishers consist of many different areas such as the basic theory related to publishing, future of publishing, publishing business and strategy, digital publication, planning, editing, budget and financial planning, global publication, roles of copyright agents, intensive courses for each field of publication, media marketing, PR, distribution, analysis of readers, communication, and others.
    Meanwhile, domestic programs operated in Korea are largely limited to areas such as editing, marketing, and design. They lack education in specialized areas such as accounting, law, technology, logistics, distribution of publications, bookstore school, connection with libraries, and data analysis. These blind spots require further attention and improvement in the future.

     

     

    Written by Park Chan-Soo (President of Research Institute for Book Cultural Content)

    kbbok

    Park Chan-Soo (President of Research Institute for Book Cultural Content)
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