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Guests, including AsiaToday Chairman Woo Jong-soon, ruling People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk, and former National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun, join the Brillante Children’s Choir in tossing paper airplanes to symbolize new aspirations during AsiaToday’s 20th anniversary ceremony at the Crystal Ballroom of Lotte Hotel in Seoul on November 10. / Photo by Park Sang-sun

The lobby of Lotte Hotel’s Crystal Ballroom in central Seoul buzzed with greetings and handshakes on November 10, as guests gathered for AsiaToday’s 20th anniversary celebration. Under a large banner reading “Opening the Future with the Power of Truth,” politicians, business leaders, diplomats, and journalists filled the hall, turning the evening into a festive reflection on two decades of journalism.

Among the 2,000 attendees were AsiaToday Chairman Woo Jong-soon, People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk, National Assembly Vice Speaker Joo Ho-young, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, South Chungcheong Governor Kim Tae-heum, and lawmakers Na Kyung-won and Yoon Sang-hyun. Legal and public sector figures such as Kim Sang-gon, CEO of the law firm Gwangjang, and Gwak Byung-woo, spokesperson for the National Police Agency, also joined in the celebration.

The ceremony opened with a performance blending the traditional gayageum and violin, followed by a video highlighting AsiaToday’s journey since its 2005 founding. The film retraced milestones such as the paper’s expansion into mobile media, establishment of bureaus in Vietnam and China, and its rise among Korea’s top twelve general daily newspapers. The event then featured a cake-cutting ceremony and the symbolic flight of paper airplanes to represent the outlet’s renewed commitment to the future.

In its anniversary declaration, AsiaToday reaffirmed its founding spirit: “We will remain an independent and principled press, unswayed by partisan interests, and lead digital innovation in this era of AI revolution and platform competition.”

The paper also pledged to strengthen its international presence, “building a global network that competes with the world’s top media outlets and delivers truthful news that contributes to national progress and the happiness of the people.”

The evening concluded with a heartwarming performance by the Brillante Children’s Choir, whose rendition of “You Raise Me Up” and “The World I Dream Of” filled the hall with optimism. The lyrics, “There’s a world we’ve always dreamed of—let’s come together and sing,” perfectly echoed the event’s theme of unity and hope, drawing prolonged applause from the audience.

AsiaToday’s 20th anniversary was not only a look back on its achievements but also a reaffirmation of its mission—to uphold the power of truth and adapt to a rapidly changing media landscape.