Korea Daily Wins at 2025 Ethnic Media Awards, Third Year in a Row

The Korea Daily has been honored for the third consecutive year at the Ethnic Media Awards, reaffirming its standing as the largest Korean-language newspaper in the United States.

At the 2025 Ethnic Media Expo and Awards hosted by the nonprofit American Community Media (ACoM) on November 7 at the PG&E Conference Center in Oakland, the paper was the only outlet to win in two categories. Reporter Kyeongjun Kim received the top prize in the Arts, Culture, Entertainment & Sports category and an Excellence Award in Business & Economy.

This year’s competition recognized outstanding coverage across eight categories — Arts, Culture, Entertainment & Sports; Business & Economy; Education; Environment; Health; Immigration; International; and Politics — drawing more than 230 submissions from 70 media outlets. A panel of about 20 journalists and journalism professors served as judges.

The winning feature in the Arts, Culture, Entertainment & Sports category, published on March 25, titled “For the First Time in NHL History, Korean Immigrant Culture Takes the Stage”, highlighted how the harmonica ensemble from the Koreatown Senior & Community Center performed the U.S. national anthem during the LA Kings vs. Boston Bruins game on March 23, a first in NHL history.

In the Business & Economy category, the June 17 story “Korean Business Becomes a Symbol of Recovery After Altadena Fire” was recognized for chronicling the six-month rebuild of Fair Oaks Burger, a Korean-owned restaurant that reopened after being destroyed in a wildfire.

The judging panel noted, “The high quality of this year’s entries made selection especially difficult,” adding that “from federal immigration policies to local issues, ethnic media uniquely amplify voices and perspectives often overlooked by mainstream outlets.”

With this year’s double win, The Korea Daily continues its streak following top honors in 2024 for its “Homelessness Emergency Analysis” series examining LA’s homelessness crisis. In 2023, the outlet also earned three awards for reports on senior transportation safety during the pandemic, demographic shifts in the Korean community, and photo coverage of homelessness in Koreatown.

In 2013, The Korea Daily became the first Korean-language outlet to receive the International Reporting Grand Prize for its in-depth series “The Winds of Religious Pluralism,” exploring global religious trends through field coverage in New York.

Established in 1998, the Ethnic Media Awards celebrate excellence in journalism serving ethnic and immigrant communities in the United States, honoring works published in English and other languages that promote public understanding and community engagement.

BY KYEONGJUN KIM [kim.kyeongjun1@koreadaily.com]