Yonsei University’s Institute of East & West Studies (IEWS) jointly held a conference with East-West Center (EWC), a US organization, and Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Stifung (KAS) from June 22nd to 24th. The international media conference themed “Networked News: How new media is shaping stories in Asia and the Pacific” was held at Daewoo Hall. On June 22nd, the conference commenced with a school introduction and a welcoming speech by Yonsei University President Jeong Kap-young. Despite the scorching heat, some 300 media related participants and experts from over 100 news organizations in 27 countries discussed the positive and negative points about social media, media freedom and new media sources around the world, and North Korea in the eyes of the media. Victoria Esser, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs for Digital Strategy at the US Department of State, explained how the US government uses social media in a keynote speech titled, “U.S. digital diplomacy: Its opportunities, challenges and impact,” during a lunch session at Yonsei’s Alumni Hall. She said that SNS enables us to have a clearer and faster understanding of real-time events and helps make communication between people around the world easier. Accordingly, she emphasized that the effects of social media can be maximized with efforts that are in accordance with the current state of affairs. Evgeny Morozov, author of The Net Delusions: The Dark Side of Internet, claimed that, aided by video sources and Skype, internet and SNS media enabled dictators to effectively repress demonstrators soon after protests through systematic data mining. The conference touched on topics such as: covering North Korea, a secluded kingdom in the digital era; issues regarding the presidential elections in South Korea; and the trials and successes of North Korean teens. Media related workshops included the use of mobile phones in news reporting and using DSLR camera in amateur filming as well as a session conducted by a radio reporter who became a film producer. After the conference, around 150 foreign participants were taken on a DMZ tour.