Annandale business spotlight: D.C. edition of Korea Daily published here

Among the businesses based in Annandale, Va., is the Washington, D.C., regional edition of the Korea Daily, which is produced in an office building at 7023 Little River Turnpike. The Korea Daily is the largest and most influential newspaper in Korea, with a circulation of 2 million, says Jim Suk Kim, publisher of the Washington edition.

The Korean-language D.C. edition covers U.S. and international news with a focus on the impact of events on Korea and Korean Americans; news from Korea; local and regional news; sports; and a section that covers a different topic every day of the week, including the economy, education, religion and the home, real estate, and weekend activities. The sections on Korean news and sports are produced in Korea and sent to the U.S. electronically. The paper is printed in Baltimore.

The Korea Daily has 45 employees in Annandale, including writers, editors, and marketing staff. In addition to Washington, Korea Daily publishes regional editions in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Chicago, Kim says. There are also 20 editions run as franchises in the United States and Canada.

Kim calls the Korea Daily politically moderate—neither liberal nor conservative—but tends to be little more on the conservative side. He says it supports U.S. politicians who take a positive position on Korean issues. Churches and newspapers are the two most important and influential institutions for Korean-Americans in the United State, he says, noting that about 50 percent of Korean-Americans go to church regularly, and only about 10 percent read U.S. papers like the Washington Post.

According to Kim, one of the biggest concerns of Korean-Americans in Annandale is the economy, especially for those in the real estate industry.