Lee, 16, a middle school student in Uiwang, began reading a print newspaper every morning during last winter break. He says media-literacy lessons at school sparked the habit. Living in an era of information overload—where opening his smartphone instantly floods him with content—prompted him to reconsider how carelessly he was consuming news. Since the new semester began, he has been clipping articles during morning self-study to seek out curated, higher-quality reporting.
A Gyeonggi Ilbo report on the 19th found that print newspapers are regaining relevance among teenagers as a trusted source of information.
Analysts say the shift is partly the result of expanded media-literacy education in schools, which discourages indiscriminate information consumption and highlights the role of legacy media.
A Korea Press Foundation survey conducted from June to September last year of 2,674 students — elementary pupils in grades 4–6 and middle and high school students nationwide — found that 12.7% of teens reported reading print newspapers. That is a 1.3 percentage-point rise from the 2022 survey, which recorded 11.4%. While print readership declined across other age groups, only teenagers showed an increase.
Trust in print newspapers also remains strong. In the same survey, respondents rated television news highest for trust at 3.70, with print newspapers close behind at 3.62.
Experts note that students have had far more opportunities to receive media-literacy instruction in recent years. The 2022 revised curriculum requires schools to integrate media literacy across elementary, middle and high school subjects, a change that may have shifted young people’s perceptions of legacy media.
Choi Jin-bong, a professor of journalism and mass communication at Sungkonghoe University, said, “Media-literacy lessons teach students how to evaluate different news sources. As they learn that printed media matter alongside the video formats they’re used to, that could help explain why more teens are turning to print newspapers.”
At the local level, education authorities have also stepped up media-literacy programs to encourage healthier information habits.
Last year, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education dispatched media-literacy specialists to hundreds of schools under its “2025 Media Education for Schools” initiative. The office plans to continue the program this year to help students critically assess media and spot false or manipulated information.
A Gyeonggi education official said, “We run annual training so students living in an age of information overload can consume media critically and use it safely. We will continue to focus on providing media-literacy education tailored to students’ levels.”
