Daegu Pockets unites expats

Expats in Daegu have something new to slip into their pocket, thanks to the publishers of Daegu Pockets. The recently launched bilingual magazine aims to provide the long-underserved expat community in Korea`s fourth-largest city.

"The expat community in Daegu is so splintered here, we wanted to bring people together and we hope to do that with the magazine," Daegu Pockets` managing editor Craig White told Expat Living.



White, a seven-year veteran of Korea, said the full-color magazine`s unusual name came from its size.

"It`s a pocket magazine, we wanted it to fit into people`s pocket."

The magazine, first published in February, came about largely because of White`s involvement with www.galbijim.com. The Galbijim website uses technology similar to Wikipedia, but is devoted to information regarding Korea. White noticed Daegu was among the places disproportionately represented on the site.

"I always wanted to have an offline presence to compliment the online presence of Galbijim," White said.

White said he was inspired by the Fukuoka Now publication in Japan regarding what kind of content Daegu Pockets would have.

Eventually, White decided to join forces with Korean-American Scott McLaughlin who started the company BCE last year to organize events such as art shows, basketball tournaments, and concerts for Daegu`s Korean and expat communities.

"It sounded fun," McLaughlin said, regarding why he got involved. "But more importantly, Daegu has been without a bilingual magazine for the four years I have lived here, so I wanted to be part of the first Daegu magazine that I`ve seen that filled this void."

Currently, the only connection between Galbijim and Daegu Pockets is cross-promotion. Daegu Pockets also uses maps from Galbijim.

Daegu Pockets usually has a circulation of about 1,000, but because of additional funding by the local government, the circulation has been bumped up to 4,000 and should remain so for the rest of the summer, White said. Pages in the publication usually range between 44 and 64. White said four people are on staff, while an extensive support cast volunteers, translates, proof reads and does event co-ordination.

The publication`s continued growth has been helped by the support of the local government, White said.

He said the content of the magazine continues to evolve, with Daegu Pockets including more newspaper-like content in this month`s issue.

White says the magazine is bilingual in order to bridge the gap between the Korean and expat communities in Daegu. Daegu Pockets wants to be helpful to everyone living in the city. "We always look for the story within the story, so a Korean will say, `Hey, I didn`t know that!`" White said.

The future for the magazine looks bright, with White and McLaughlin hoping one day to up the circulation to 10,000 and expand into other under-served markets around Korea.

"The long-term plan is to figure out how to make the publication successful in Daegu and use that as a template for other cities around Korea," White said.

White expects Daegu Pockets to be a long-term publication that will continue to serve both the expat and Korean community in the city for years to come.

"I can see us doing this indefinitely, as long as we`re having fun. We want to see how big we can get, we want to see how many lives we can change."

Mike Conery, an American expat from Seattle who`s been in Korea for about two years, said he likes Daegu Pockets because it is a good resource for both Koreans and expats alike.

"My favorite part of the magazine is that it is really easy to carry around. It`s not too big. It is also designed in a way that is appealing to both foreigners and Koreans," Conery said. "It has information, and easy to find locations about many businesses and restaurants that I have not been able to find in the past. I also think that the magazine is really colorful and fun to look at."

Conery added that he expects great things from the publication in the future.

"I think that as Daegu grows and as the magazine continues to grow, it will become an excellent resource for expats and Koreans alike," he said.

By Shelton Bumgarner



(bumgarls@heraldm.com)



On the Web:

www.daegupockets.com

www.galbijim.com

http://blog.galbijim.com