'Special coverage of the JBNU 4·4 protest, the first nationwide student demonstration during the April 19 Revolution. The first university newspaper nationwide to publish entirely in Hangul horizontal type; a 10-year "Local Discovery Series" serialization; issuing a blank newspaper in protest against press suppression under military dictatorship; establishing the nation's largest Choi Myung‑hee Literary Award….'

The JBNU Newspaper, which has led JBNU's development and opened new horizons for university journalism, has marked its 70th anniversary. In addition, the JBNU Newspaper Journalists' Association, a group of student reporters who kindled youth and passion through the newspaper, celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Accordingly, the JBNU Newspaper and the Journalists' Association held a small but meaningful event under the theme 'Solid Youth, Ever-Green Integrity' on the 24th at JBNU's Jinsudang. About 100 people attended the event, including Yang O-bong, President of Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) (President of the JBNU Newspaper), Kim Kwan-young, Governor of the Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, Seo Geo-seok, Superintendent of Education of the Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, Woo Beom-gi, Mayor of Jeonju, Choi Byung-seon, Chairman of the Jeonbuk National University Alumni Association, Kim Dong-geun, Chair of the JBNU Faculty Council, Kim Jae-young, former weekly professor, and members of the reporters' association. 

At the commemorative ceremony, the JBNU Newspaper and the Journalists' Association selected two articles from the past 70 years and presented the 'Sanmin Reporter Award.' The winning works were the 10-year serialized 'Local Discovery Series' (1982–1992) and Issue No. 77, which ran special coverage of the April 19 Revolution. Each award carried prize money of 1,000,000 won.

'Sanmin' was the pen name of the late Han Seung-heon, former Auditor General, who served as an adviser to the JBNU Newspaper.

The Journalists' Association also donated a scholarship of 20,000,000 won to JBNU on the day. 

In his commemorative address, President Yang said, 'Established in 1954, the JBNU Newspaper has, from its first issue to issue 1,560, upheld the principles and fundamentals of university journalism amid numerous vicissitudes and has captured vivid scenes as a recorder of university history. I congratulate the JBNU Newspaper on its 70th anniversary and the Journalists' Association on its 50th anniversary, and I hope that through continuous effort it will reach its 100th and, further, its 200th anniversaries.'

Kim Yong-kwon, President of the JBNU Newspaper Journalists' Association (Kukmin Ilbo reporter), said, 'Members who learned the spirit of the age and a critical mindset through the university newspaper during their time as student reporters have been actively and vigorously engaged across society and around the world. Let's continue with a solid and ever-green spirit to work for the development of our alma mater, region, and nation.' 

The JBNU Newspaper released its first issue on February 16, 1954 under the newspaper motto 'Truth Dissemination (眞理暢達), Righteous Discussion (正理正論), Swift and Free (俊敏自在)'. It was the third national university newspaper to be published in the country, following Seoul National University and Kyungpook National University. 

The paper's original title was 'Jeonbuk University Gazette.' After establishing a weekly publication system in 1962, it passed issue 1,000 in 1996 and most recently published issue 1,560.

The May 13, 1960 issue (No. 77) bears vivid testimony to a page of history. That issue ran a special on the April 19 Revolution.

The front-page article and photographs headlined 'Devoted to Building a Democratic Academy: April Student Revolution,' along with editorials and a paean by poet Shin Seok-jeong, filled the pages with moving and exhilarating reports. The issue accurately and thoroughly reported on JBNU students' '4·4 protest,' which was even earlier than demonstrations at Korea University at the time.

In January 1962, Issue No. 101 became the first university newspaper in the nation's history to adopt horizontal writing in pure Hangul.

The 'Local Discovery Series,' serialized from March 1982 to February 1992, over a span of ten years, is a major work. It was a large-scale project not typically seen even in daily newspapers at the time. 

Starting with the first installment 'Searching for the Homeland of Song' and continuing through seven installments up to 'Following the Mountains and Rivers,' student reporters traveled across the landscape of Jeonbuk to uncover local culture and history. These reports were later compiled into a booklet titled 'Jeolla Travels.' 

In June 1989, when the Public Safety Joint Investigation Unit seized the newspaper's printing plates over an article related to the 'Pyongyang Festival,' the paper printed the contested page blank as an act of protest. 

In the 1990s, the university newspaper carried out media innovations to become a paper that engages with its readers, moving further into campus life and turning its attention to the local community. 

In the 2000s, the JBNU Newspaper expanded and reorganized the 'JBNU Newspaper Literary Award,' which had been held since the second year after the paper's founding, and established the 'Choi Myung‑hee Youth Literary Award.' This is the largest-scale university newspaper literary award in the country. The late Choi Myung‑hee, author of the magnum opus 'Honbul' and the namesake of the youth literary award, first became known as a novelist through the 1970s JBNU Newspaper Literary Award.

Meanwhile, members of the reporters' association have also built extraordinary camaraderie and friendship over half a century. They formed the journalists' association in the winter of 1974 and have met annually since. Drawing on the reporting ethos learned in the newsroom, they have been actively engaged across fields as journalists, university professors, and corporate managers. 

The late Han Seung-heon, former Auditor General, and the late Choi Seung-beom, former JBNU professor, are also members of the journalists' association family.