In recent years, Koreans have shown a growing preference for obtaining employment with foreign companies. According to a joint survey conducted by JobKorea and Albamon last March, job seekers chose welfare benefits, opportunity to work overseas, and horizontal organizational collectivism as the advantages of foreign companies. But back in the early 2000s, when Miyoung Kim started her career as a correspondent at Reuters, working for overseas corporations was not so common. As one of the few Korean reporters at Reuters Singapore, Kim delivers the world through both a Korean and international point of view, as well as the journey she experienced to become an international reporter.
Kim has worked in the journalism industry for more than 20 years, and most of her experience has been with Reuters. Having graduated college right after the Asian financial crisis in 1997, when many companies were going bankrupt or downsizing, she had no choice but to apply for whatever jobs were available. Although being a journalist was not her dream job, the first company that hired her was the Korea Economic Daily, and that was the start of her journalism career. Fortunately, Kim enjoyed her experience with the paper and then joined Reuters in 2001.
Thomson Reuters is a leading global news provider, helping professionals make confident decisions and run better businesses. The worldwide network of journalists and editors keeps customers, including media outlets, financial institutions, and governments, up to speed on global developments that are relevant to them. As Breaking News Editor for Thomson Reuters, Kim looks after corporate and business news out of Asia and sets the coverage plan for major stories.
Kim has experience in working in the UK, South Korea, and is currently working in Singapore. One of the benefits of working for a global media organization, according to Kim, is being able to apply for an overseas posting without having to undertake international assignment. Working overseas allowed her to learn more about different cultures and work more closely with people from various countries.
“Living in Singapore for eight years, it has now become my second home,” she said. “With my move in 2014, my role changed from reporting to news planning and editing. It’s a job requiring a bird’s-eye view and the ability to connect the dots for the public to see the big picture.”
Her stint in London between 2005 and 2008 as a company news correspondent also gave her a tremendous sense of exultation. Seeing stock markets instantly react to her CEO interviews and red alerts often made her feel like being at the center of the global financial market, driving her to pursue scoops and exclusives.
Looking back, she does not recall any challenges that she may have faced as an Asian or female.
“Thomson Reuters promotes diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and we have made great strides in our commitment to this,” Kim said. “Reuters News has many more female editors and managers in our senior leadership team than in 2001. Just to name a few highlights, Alessandra Galloni was named editor-in-chief last year, the first woman to lead the news agency in its 170-year history. There are also several other female editors in our senior leadership team including Global Business News Editor and three regional editors.”
Kim believes Korean corporations may want to consider taking a page from foreign companies’ playbooks. These include implementing a performance-based promotion system, encouraging employees to fully use their entitled annual leave, and running various programs for staff well-being such as counselling and mental health support.
As well as the excitement in seeing markets react to scoops and breaking news, she mentioned that getting unsolicited praise from competitors, clients, and editors is also very rewarding. Due to these satisfactions, Kim wishes to further her career in journalism.
Kim advises students dreaming of working in journalism and overseas corporations to read news extensively and pay closer attention to international current affairs and business news.
“It may seem irrelevant at the moment, but globalization means things happening on the other side of the world often reverberate through the world to impact you one way or another,” she concluded. “Reading global news will not only help you make better sense of what’s happening around you but also allow you to see things from different points of view. It is not easy, but it is worth it. Do not give up reading.”