“A PLATFORM for cultural exchange.” ACCESS Magazine is Yonsei University’s one and only cultural magazine, where they seek to deliver diverse topics in the culture industry while focusing on its central theme: sustainability. ACCESS compiles stories of various artists and shares artists’ interpretations of sustainability in their field of work. The Yonsei Annals interviewed Yu Hyun-da (Jr., UIC, Culture and Design Management), the current representative of ACCESS, to hear about the efforts that go into the making of the biannual magazine.

Annals: When was ACCESS first published and what has changed since then?

Yu: The first issue of ACCESS was published in September 2014. From what I have heard from my seniors, Culture and Design Management major alumni were the first to form a team to start the magazine’s production. Over time, we experienced a change in staff members. The ACCESS production team now welcomes applicants outside of Yonsei University; for example, we have recruited students from Hongik University to improve our layout design. Another noticeable change is that our magazine now has seven different columns, whereas in the first issue, we only had three columns. The seven sections are: Around the Culture, Creative Culture, Events, Story, Studio, Global, and Lifestyle. To explain a few, the Creative Culture column contains interviews with young, rising artists. The Story column is reserved for interviews with artists who have worked in their fields for more than 20 years (or those who have similar levels of cultural impact). Reporters comment on art studios in Studio articles, and they interview artists working outside Korea for the Global articles. The Lifestyle column was added recently to broaden the scope of the topics we cover.

Annals: What are the different roles in the team?

Yu: Editors, those who have participated in the magazine production process for more than three semesters, are in charge of writing Around the Culture pieces (introductory paragraphs) and proofreading the reporters’ work. Reporters interview artists and write articles, including both interview-based ones and other columns. Reporters and editors write their pieces in English and the introductory paragraphs in Korean. Once the drafts are finished, they are sent to the designers for the layout design. Managing the ACCESS Instagram account is another role of our designers. Marketers also take part in updating Instagram posts, but they are more concerned with uploading YouTube videos.

Annals: How do reporters decide on what topics to write on and whom to interview?

Yu: We have a specific theme for each issue of the magazine, and reporters write articles according to the theme chosen by the production team. Some of our previous themes were: Renewal, Harmony, Balance, and Resilience. For interviews, we typically reach out to six or more artists for the production of each issue. We email them or even Direct Message (DM) them through their Instagram accounts to get interviews for our articles.

Annals: What should interviewers have in mind when they are conducting an interview?

Yu: The most important thing is to research about your interviewee before walking into an interview. Reporters need to bring out questions that were not previously asked by other media outlets; from the interviewee’s perspective, receiving repetitive questions will not be interesting. We actually had a case where IAB Studio, an art crew founded by rapper Beenzino and his fellow artists, accepted our interview request solely because of the quality of our questions. Reporters check on each other’s questions and I—as the representative—also look over what the interviewer plans to ask the interviewee. Moreover, our team has a “PM program” where new reporters are matched with experienced ones to make sure members exchange feedback for their works.

Annals: How does it feel to visit an artist’s studio?

Yu: I think the experience is hard to put into words. Through interviews and visiting the artists’ studios, I had several opportunities to observe how the artists create their work. I was able to look around the studio setting and see the equipment that is used. Personally, it was a pleasure to hear from Lee Kun-yong. I interviewed him at his studio for four hours, and he gave me a detailed explanation of his artworks. Getting to know the process, not just the end result, was a valuable experience for me.

Annals: What makes ACCESS special?

Yu: ACCESS has a strong “interview portfolio.” We meet a lot of artists that typical university students would not have the opportunity to meet. To name a few, we have interviewed designer Seo Jeong-hwa, performance artist Lee Kun-yong, and singer Insooni. I think ACCESS has built a brand power of its own thanks to the insightful content that it delivers.

Annals: It is mentioned on the website that ACCESS strives for “a sustainable cultural revival.” In what ways does ACCESS try to deliver the message of sustainability to its readers?

Yu: Our concept of sustainability is not confined to environmental issues. Instead, we try to approach the topic by analyzing how the culture and design industry continues to advance into the future. By connecting selected themes of our magazine issues with the message of sustainability, our team tries to provide new insight through our articles; we discuss how an artist’s work can be interpreted as efforts to inspire new artists and spark a creative drive in the industry. Innovative creations from artists are all contributions to building a sustainable art community—additionally, that is why I chose the topic for ACCESS Vol. 7 No. 2 as “Venture.”

Annals: What is the publication’s role on-campus and off-campus?

Yu: We inform our readers about Korean artists, rising artists, and many others in the culture and design industry. Readers can get a grasp of what the recent cultural trends are as they read our articles. Since we are an English publication, those who are interested in studying English will also find our articles helpful. ACCESS is placed in both Sinchon and Songdo campuses, so that those who are interested can easily find the magazine. We also distribute ACCESS to various companies, art galleries, and embassies to further spread our message.

Annals: What is the ultimate goal in running this team?

Yu: ACCESS started off with a couple of Culture and Design Management major students recording events going around in the culture industry. Since the beginning, our goal has always been to provide ACCESS Magazine’s own perspective on the topic of sustainability. We have carried out our best efforts to spread the word through different channels. Team members are utilizing Instagram and YouTube, and we are planning to create a Naver blog. In addition, ACCESS will publish Korean counterparts to the English articles from next issue onwards.