OhmyNews has become a prominent player, not only in Korea but also increasingly in the international sphere of internet publishing, and it has achieved this through a series of innovations to the extent that it is cited as a model for similar ventures in the West.

It is one of many examples that throws into high relief the shortcomings of the generally accepted division between "mainstream media" and "alternative media." On the one hand, OMN includes a wide range of news on society, politics, the economy and culture, replicating the omnibus format of Western consumerist newspapers. Yet, on the other hand, OMN relies extensively on its network of ‘citizen reporters’ for contributions, significantly extending a dimension of participation in the news production process beyond the norm of commercial publications, and it actively supports processes of greater democratization in the wake of the civil unrest of the late 1980s rather than practicing an objective neutrality typical of, for example, the commercial press in the US.

This article discusses the emergence, features, and practice of OhmyNews and assesses its potential as a means of democratic communications.