SM, Design House launch new magazine as publishers turn to in-depth celebrity content

A visitor to the Korea Magazine Festival reads a magazine at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on Friday.  (Yonhap News)

Just when people thought the era of print media was coming to an end, S.M. Entertainment, Korea’s most profitable showbiz agency, launched on Oct. 15 a monthly magazine called The Celebrity.

Joining hands with Design House, which specializes in content production, the magazine features fashion, beauty, food, design, travel and other topics that revolve around celebrities. In its inaugural edition, the magazine featured some of the hottest celebrities in local show business including Seohyun of Girls’ Generation, boy band EXO, ZE:A, U-Know Yunho from TVXQ and others.

“People ask why we have launched a new print magazine when you can get loads of information online,” said Shin Dong-sun, editor-at-large of the magazine.

“We are seeking to share not only the content in the print magazine but other content derived from celebrities through marketing. We are seeking to link celebrities ― very attractive subjects ― with media, products, branding and marketing both on- and offline. In a world where hallyu, or the Korean pop culture wave, is dominant, we cannot help but be a little envious of them,” she added. 

 

The Celebrity magazine

For instance, the inaugural edition highlighted actor Jang Dong-gun and contained scores of full-page spreads, with each chapter dedicated to his favorite hangout places, outdoor hobbies, fashion items, foods and others topics with product details including where they are sold and prices. It also established a “One Asia Chart,” which integrates music charts from Seoul, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta, and ranks K-pop singers.

The launch of The Celebrity shows the latest trend in the print magazine industry, which has long been struggling to survive in a digital era with free information provided online.

Whether hallyu will be able to resuscitate the dying magazine industry is drawing attention. According to the Korea Magazine Association, there are more than 4,000 monthly magazines printed in the country, and 6,000 when counting seasonal ones. Every year, a handful of magazines shut down while new ones are launched. The association estimates the market size at around 1.4 trillion won ($1.3 billion).

“For a long time, the market was sustained with advertisement sales rather than subscriptions, which crippled the business,” said Kim Bong-seok, a culture critic.

“Hallyu has been a good theme for the magazine industry in the past, especially targeting the Japanese market. It is actually the future of the industry for magazines to provide very focused and in-depth information rather than general articles that can easily be obtained through the internet. I think the future is quite positive because there is always a demand for good content among people with very specific interests,” he added.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism supported the magazine industry by selecting 27 magazines earlier this year and subsidizing the translation of their content into foreign languages.

Another seven magazines, including celebrity-focused 10+STAR and STARAZ, were selected to have their articles translated into English and Chinese. They will also be given an additional translation stipend for brochures and other promotional materials that can be used at international exhibitions and other events. The government will also support the development of smartphone applications and QR codes that will direct the users to the magazines’ websites.

The magazine association is also preparing a “K-magazine portal” where people worldwide can browse Korean magazines. The organization is also translating much of the content into English and is set to launch the service in the first quarter of next year.

The organization held the Korea Magazine Festival 2013 at Gwanghwamun Square from last Friday through Monday, exhibiting all the magazines published in the country.

“Alongside the boom of webzines ― online magazines that allow international access to the content at lower costs ― I think hallyu can be a good business opportunity for the industry. There are people out there wanting to see and read Korean photos and articles about their favorite K-pop stars,” said Namgoong Young-hoon, president of the association.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)