South Korea has a problem with foreign media "distorting" Korea's economic situation.

From the Korea Times, an excerpt:

At the same time, the government has been waging an all-out war against the foreign media, actively responding to critical reports by the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and others that it previously ignored.

It has issued a number of press releases refuting media reports, that it claimed distorted the facts of the world's 13th largest economy, and exaggerated the difficulties facing Korea in the wake of the global credit crunch and economic slowdown.

Officials from the National Intelligence Service are said to have held a meeting with the correspondent of the Financial Times here in October at the height of the government's war against foreign media.

Along with critical media, the government has been trying to tame local economists and analysts disapproving of its economic policies, saying negative assessments of economic conditions and government policies should be stopped to help the nation more effectively deal with the current difficulties.

You Jong-il, a professor at the Korea Development Institute School of Public Policy and Management, said several government officials have called him in recent months in a bid to stop him from making negative remarks about the economic situation and the Lee Myung-bak administration's policies. He is a regular debater of government proponents on TV and a columnist for the liberal Hankyoreh and Kyunghyang dailies.

This would be really bad for Korea's image if anybody outside of Korea paid attention to what was going on inside Korea. I saw this on The Marmot's Hole earlier, the blog that has had a number of recent posts on the topic of foreign reporters who need a talking-to: this, this, and my favorite, this. An excerpt from the accompanying Korea Times piece:

The Lee Myung-bak administration is considering setting up a team that will help foreign media and investors get a better understanding of the country's economic situation, Prime Minister Han Seung-soo said Wednesday.

The move reflects complaints among some senior officials that ``malicious and incorrect'' reporting by some foreign media about the country's financial health has hurt confidence among global investors in the Korean economy, officials said.

``Not all foreign media speak ill of Korea's economy. There are also many good stories,'' Han said at an economic policy coordination meeting between top policymakers and the governing Grand National Party (GNP) at his residence in Seoul.

``However, we need to set up a team to promote our policies among global investors and help the world better understand the country's economic situation.''

I'm willing to do my part. Say, if the world's problems got you down, why not check out the Gwangju International Film Festival, running tomorrow through the 9th? There's plenty more information on this international film festival here, provided you understand Korean. *cough* Gwangju is also the "Hub City of Asian Culture" because it calls itself the "Hub City of Asian Culture," so how about getting out there and enjoying Korea rather than complaining about it all the time!

And if you're like me and can't get enough of cases of foreigners "distorting" and "misunderstanding" Korean culture by telling the truth about it, then you'll want to read this compilation of articles on foreign coverage of the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.