Field Reporting · International Journalism2015

Mingalaba! Myanmar — On-the-Ground Report After the Historic Election

Traveled to Yangon immediately after Myanmar's historic election of November 8, 2015 (NLD landslide, end of 53 years of military rule) and stayed for over two weeks. Set out to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, covering slums, NLD headquarters, the stock exchange, and youth cafes along the way. Published as a 4-part series.

Youth on the street: "We voted trusting Amay Su" ↗"World's factory" candidate Myanmar — Crony reform on the agenda ↗Interview with Myanmar Statistics Association President ↗"We won't fail like the Arab Spring" — Yangon youth ↗

Challenge

Myanmar felt psychologically distant to Korean readers. Yet it shared Korea's history: colonialism, military dictatorship, democracy movements, and geopolitical significance. At the moment the world's attention was fixed on the post-election period, there was a need to simultaneously convey the context of democratization and the economic reality on the ground.

Approach

Field assignment to Yangon immediately after the election; stayed 2+ weeks accumulating multi-layer interviews

Built a diverse source base: NLD Central Committee members, ruling party officials, slum residents, young journalists, doctors, and business people

Exclusive interview with the President of Myanmar Statistical Association (former Vice Chancellor of Yangon University of Economics) for in-depth coverage of economic reform agenda

Structured the planning around 3 axes: democratization history (8888 Uprising, 1990 election nullification), economic structure (Crony system), and geopolitics (US-China proxy contest)

Captured the impact of SNS and smartphone proliferation on the election through young local voices

Outcome

✓

4-part series published simultaneously in JoongAng Ilbo print and online (December 2015)

✓

First in-depth delivery of Myanmar's democratization context to Korean readers from the post-election field

✓

Vivid local expressions like "Amay Su (our mother Suu)" secured reader empathy