〈SisaIN〉, with the largest number of subscribers in Korea, is the best-selling weekly news magazine in the country, with weekly sales of 40,000+ copies. According to an announcement by the Korea Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), 〈SisaIN〉 has ranked 1st among Korean weekly news magazines since 2012, the year 〈SisaIN〉 celebrated its 5th anniversary, in terms of the number of paid copies sold annually.

The birth of 〈SisaIN〉 is a very unique story. 〈SisaIN〉 was founded by a group of reporters who wrote articles for 〈Sisa Journal〉, the oldest weekly news magazine in Korea, and fought to protect their editorial rights. In June 2006, Keum Chang-Tae, the CEO of 〈Sisa Journal〉, personally visited the printing shop to delete an article that criticized Samsung. The reporters could not turn a blind eye to such a violation of editorial rights and resisted. 〈Sisa Journal〉 suspended those reporters and cut their salaries. For 6 months, the reporters fought internally and then declared a strike in January 2007, after which the management imposed a lockout. The Journalists’ Association of Korea, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (Media Union), International Federation of Journalists and other media organizations showed their support for the 〈Sisa Journal〉 reporters. At the 38th Korea Journalist Awards, jointly held by the Journalists’ Association of Korea and the Korea Press Foundation in February 2007, a Meritorious Deed Award (the Korean equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize), was presented to the 〈Sisa Journal〉 reporters on strike, in recognition of their contribution to freedom of the press. The union leaders went on a hunger strike, but the company responded with penalties and lawsuits, thus bringing the strike, which had become a symbol of the threat to editorial rights, to a devastating end. Finally, the 22 reporters and 5 administrative staff members decided to leave 〈Sisa Journal〉 on June 26, 2007. On July 2 of the same year, they declared their intention to launch a new weekly newspaper, and the first issue of 〈SisaIN〉 was published on September 15. 〈SisaIN〉 was recognized as Korea’s legitimate weekly news magazine from its birth, and the Journalists’ Association of Korea officially struck 〈Sisa Journal〉 off its list in July 2007. Another driving force in the foundation of 〈SisaIN〉 was the people. About 600 shareholders and others made donations to help in the organization of 〈SisaIN〉. 〈SisaIN〉 created an internal system whereby no management figure could interfere with editorial rights. While other media allow their CEOs to appoint editors-in-chief, 〈SisaIN〉 appoints the editor-in-chief by employee vote. 〈SisaIN〉’s CEO is recruited from outside, with a mechanism in place to prevent the CEO from interfering with journalistic activities. 〈SisaIN〉’s business model is unique and unprecedented in Korea. Nothing could stop 〈SisaIN〉, where editorial rights were protected. In 2007, its year of foundation, 〈SisaIN〉 reported on Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee’s slush fund. Thereafter, 〈SisaIN〉 established its reputation as a news magazine that keeps the political and economic powers in check by running articles related to: former President Lee Myung-bak’s private house; the corruption of former President Park Geunhye; the National Intelligence Service’s intervention in the presidential election; and the National Intelligence Service’s operation of a hacking team.

〈SisaIN〉 has published many investigative articles on various issues, and there is no holy ground or taboo it will refrain from investigating. 〈SisaIN〉 strives to protect democracy by standing up against the President, the National Intelligence Service, the National Assembly, public prosecutors, chaebol (Korean family conglomerates), and all others who wield power. 〈SisaIN〉 allows all reporters to have the amount of time necessary (sometimes several months) to fully investigate matters with which they are concerned, thus allowing them to write truly investigative articles. On October 1, 2016, 〈SisaIN〉 published a photograph of Choi Soon-sil, the secretive adviser to former President Park Geun-hye, before any other media did, after its reporters spent many months investigating the matter. At the time, Choi Soon-sil did not formally exist in political circles, but 〈SisaIN〉 had been tracking her since 2014. 〈SisaIN〉, as a news magazine well-known for its long-term investigation, follows up with issues until the end - 〈SisaIN〉 has been following up on the National Intelligence Service’s interference with the presidential election, Choi Soon-sil Gate, and the corruption implicating former President Lee Myung-bak.

〈SisaIN〉 offers in-depth analysis and sharp diagnosis on social events. As a weekly magazine, 〈SisaIN〉’s articles are long - each reporter writes as much as 800 to 2,000 words per article, providing in-depth information on various issues in Korea, while striving to reflect differing opinions. 〈SisaIN〉 cannot produce large volumes of articles because there are only 21 reporters to write them. However, each and every one devotes him or herself to their articles and tries to look at various social issues from comprehensive and multi-dimensional perspectives. 〈SisaIN〉 also actively conducts experiments with various other forms of journalism, such as data journalism, infographics, and articles-by-trial.

〈SisaIN〉 sells paper magazines for profit, and thus can be regarded as a legacy media. However, 〈SisaIN〉 has been actively experimenting with new formats and for the last 10 years has been flexibly adapting to changes in the media environment. 〈SisaIN〉 is the media organization that has most actively adapted to social media in Korea. When Twitter launched its services in Korea in the late 2000s, 〈SisaIN〉 actively used it as a news platform prior to any other Korean media, and currently has 908,000 followers. One of 〈SisaIN〉s principles is to “adopt new platforms as soon as possible, and the entire organization shall use the adopted platforms.” 〈SisaIN〉 opened its Facebook page in 2011 and now has 348,000 followers - the 3rd largest group of followers among Korean newspaper companies. 〈SisaIN〉 also communicates with its readers through numerous other social media channels, such as Instagram (52,000 readers). Although 〈SisaIN〉 is a weekly news magazine, it re-constructs and rearranges its articles to suit different social media platforms. 〈SisaIN〉’s social media strategy made a great impact on people with regard to the Sewol Tragedy reports in 2014, the reports on filibuster at the National Assembly in 2016, and the candlelight vigil reports in 2016-17. The reporters of 〈SisaIN〉 write articles for various social media channels at the location where the news is happening, without being restricted by printing deadlines. They describe the events as they happen; sometimes with photographs, sometimes with moving images. 〈SisaIN〉’s agile and flexible structure is what gives it its advantage. Although it is a small news magazine with only 25 reporters (including photographers) in the field, it is a strong, independent media entity with unprecedented recognition in Korean society.