For 'Si Kuncung' life may start after 40<\/p>\n
By Myra Sidharta<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The oldest children's magazine in Indonesia, Si
\nKuncung, celebrates its 41st anniversary this month. Once the
\ndarling of every child in Indonesia, you will no longer find it
\nin the bookstore even though it still clings on to existence.<\/p>\n
For many years, Si Kuncung was the only children's magazine
\nand once reached a circulation of 250,000 copies. However, in the
\nearly 1970s, new magazines, many of them versions of publications
\nfrom abroad, appeared featuring famous cartoon characters, such
\nas Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Popeye.<\/p>\n
Si Kuncung's popularity soon faded. Circulation has plummeted
\nto 25,000 copies today, and this number is only due to the fact
\nthe Ministry of Education and Culture pays for subscriptions
\nwhich they send to all the schools in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The magazine was founded at a time when obtaining reading
\nmaterials was quite a problem in Indonesia for adults, but
\nespecially for children. During the colonial period people had
\nrelied on Dutch books for children who attended Dutch schools.
\nThere were some translated books for those who only read Malay.<\/p>\n
After independence in 1945, the Dutch language was still
\ntaught in schools for a few years before the change to
\nIndonesian. In 1956, when the magazine was established,
\nIndonesian was still in its infancy and books were still largely
\nunavailable as few adults had mastered the language well enough
\nto write for children. There were some folktales and translated
\nbooks from foreign countries, such as Huckleberry Finn and Uncle
\nTom's Cabin, and a few others in Dutch.<\/p>\n
Soedjati S.A. decided to create the magazine to supplement the
\nknowledge of his younger son and keep his interest in the world
\naround him. This boy flunked fourth grade in school because he
\nwas bored in the class. He knew everything the teacher taught
\nbecause he had studied his brother's schoolbooks from the
\nprevious year.<\/p>\n
Soedjati's aim was to educate children, providing them with
\nknowledge of Indonesian culture as well as the outside world. He
\nwas fortunate as he could count on the help of many experts,
\nincluding Emil Salim, the former minister of environment. Salim
\nhas contributed many articles to the magazine and realizes its
\nimportance as he was an avid reader as a child.<\/p>\n
Si Kuncung also had the help of an ornithologist who wrote
\nabout birds; the most successful story was entitled Why the Cock
\nCrows at Dawn. The story seems to appeal to children in big
\ncities who seldom see roosters, let alone hear them crowing.<\/p>\n
Adrian Lapian has sent in a few stories about pirates as he
\nonce wrote his dissertation on the subject. A faithful
\ncontributor is Singgih Wibisono, a lecturer at the University of
\nIndonesia and an expert on wayang shadow puppets.<\/p>\n
For today's children, who seem to enjoy hamburgers and donuts
\nmore than traditional Indonesian food, Si Kuncung's appearance is
\nprobably not as appealing as the many glossy magazines now
\navailable. Soedjati defends his magazine by saying it has a
\nnational identity not found in other children's publications.<\/p>\n
This is true as Si Kuncung has a very important role to play.
\nBut it needs to find a solution to solve its own identity crisis.
\nA complete overhaul, perhaps including improvement of
\nillustrations and paper quality, may be needed to meet the
\ndemands of time. Who knows, maybe a helping hand from the
\nbusiness world will come through the placement of advertisements
\nin Si Kuncung's pages.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/for-si-kuncung-life-may-start-after-40-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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