The Ewha Womans University Press Wins Grand Prize at the 17th SisaIN University Journalism Awards N
- Date2026.04.28
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“Drifting Boys of the Provinces” Project Sheds Light on Youth in Depopulating Regions
Top Honor Awarded for In-Depth Reporting and Documentary Production
The Ewha Womans University Press (Editor-in-Chief Bang Se-hoon), a student media organization at Ewha Womans University, has won the Grand Prize, the highest honor, at the “17th SisaIN University Journalism Awards.” This marks its second Grand Prize win, following the 15th awards held two years ago.
Established in 2009 by the current affairs weekly magazine SisaIN to encourage student journalists and revitalize university media, the University Journalism Awards are widely regarded as one of the most prestigious honors among campus journalists. This year, a total of 123 entries were submitted by university media outlets nationwide. After final deliberation by a panel consisting of the editor-in-chief of SisaIN and four experts from the media and academia, four winning works were selected. The Grand Prize is awarded to the most outstanding entry across categories including investigative reporting, photography/graphics, broadcast/video, new currents, and special awards.
(From left) Ewha Womans University Press reporters Kim Jisu, Park Soyoung, Lee Sun-young, and Jung Bohyun at the 17th SisaIN University Journalism Awards ceremony. Photo courtesy of SisaIN.
The winning work is the “Drifting Boys of the Provinces” series, published in September 2025 in The Ewha Womans University Press. This large-scale project involved six reporters—Jung Bohyun, Jung Jaeyoon, Lee Sun-young, Kim Jisu, Byun Hayoung, and Park Soyoung—and offers an in-depth look at the lives of adolescents in depopulating regions, a group often overlooked in discussions of regional extinction. Over the course of two months, the reporting team visited Gangjin in South Jeolla Province, Yeongdeok in North Gyeongsang Province, and Yangyang in Gangwon Province, conducting interviews with more than 90 youths and related stakeholders. The findings were presented through five in-depth articles and a one-hour documentary film. The project was partially supported by the Korea Press Foundation and had previously won the top prize at the “2025 Semyung University Journalism Awards.”
Kang Yoon-gi, President of the Korea PD Association and head of the final judging panel, commented, “The documentary was powerful and persuasive, while the articles stood out for their excellent in-depth reporting, employing a range of methods such as surveys, interviews, and on-site coverage to effectively convey their message.” He added, “It is an outstanding piece of content that vividly captures the realities of youth in regional areas and delivers its intent in an engaging and effective manner.”
The awards ceremony was held on April 17 at the SisaIN headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. The Ewha Womans University Press team received a certificate, a plaque, and a prize of KRW 2 million. Jung Bohyun (Economics, Class of 2021), who first proposed the project, stated, “This project began with the aim of securing not just the ‘right to speak,’ but the ‘right to be heard,’ by directly listening to the voices of youth in regional areas.” She added, “We hope that the realities of these young people, each grappling with their own futures, receive greater attention and lead to the development of meaningful policies,” noting that the reporting experience gained at the Ewha Womans University Press enabled the team to capture diverse voices in depth.
Founded in 1954, the Ewha Womans University Press is a representative campus media outlet and journalism training institution, widely trusted for its accurate and in-depth coverage of issues both on and off campus. It has demonstrated its high level of journalistic excellence through a series of external accolades, including the Grand Prize at the 2024 SisaIN University Journalism Awards, the top prize at the 2025 Semyung University Journalism Awards, and the Grand Prize at the 2023 University Newspaper Life Respect Reporting Contest. Student reporters are responsible for the entire production process—from story pitching and reporting to writing, editing, and video production—and receive ongoing mentoring from current and former media professionals, as well as access to various special lectures. Recruitment for new reporters and marketers in reporting, photography, and video divisions takes place every May and November for undergraduate students.