Courtesy of Belinda Fewings

A student told me this week that she wanted to be a journalist so she could change the world. I congratulated her for her passion, her drive, and her belief in the power of words. She had a dream, and that was more than most her age. But I couldn’t help myself. I asked her, “Isn’t that kind of attitude the problem? Isn’t that why we’re in this mess?” She looked back, puzzled.

Journalists aren’t journalists anymore. They are agenda pushers. On both sides. And we, as consumers lap it up. We go where we like the opinions. We read what reinforces our beliefs. When we pick up a newspaper — whether it’s The Hankyoreh or Chosun Ilbo — we know what we’re getting. Objectivity vanishes. The same applies to TV channels, radio stations, YouTube videos, and even academia. This is the world we’ve built. A world where journalists and news organizations provide narratives and bias rather than facts.

Politics has become a theater of emotions — fear, glory, victory, and defeat. People celebrate or cry when events unfold. Every news outlet has a slant, and rather than resisting bias, they embrace it. In fact, they thrive on it. It keeps the clicks coming, the outrage flowing, and the revenue streams healthy. Even those in academia, adorned with the titles of “Dr.” and “Professor,” are often predictable in their ideological leanings. In the field of Korean Studies, I know where most stand. It’s not a question of whether bias exists, but how explicitly it is broadcasted. I don’t see myself as exempt from this, either.

But consider the world of sports. Watch any football or baseball broadcast, and you will see pundits—many of whom have deep emotional ties to certain teams — engage in objective analysis. Sure, they’re not........

© The Korea Times