Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

English radio channel to air Dec. 1

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/


An English-only radio channel TBS eFM will begin broadcasting on Dec. 1 at 101.3 MHz, Seoul City-funded broadcaster TBS said.

The TBS eFM will broadcast news and entertainment programs from 6 a.m. through 2 a.m. in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province initially, and will expand to other areas later.

Flagship programs include "Soul of Asia," which will provide various information for residents of the Seoul metropolitan area between 11 a.m. and noon, a Korean pop music channel "K-Popular" (from noon till 2 p.m.), current issues programs "This Morning" (between 7 and 9 a.m.) and "Evening Show" between 6:10 p.m. and 8 p.m.

TBS is considering lending small portable radio sets to foreigners at the airport so they can easily tune into the latest news in Korea.

Lee Charm, a well-known German native and Korean citizen by naturalization, will analyze and explain national and international current issues at the "Evening Show." A world music program "Drivetime" (between 4 and 6 p.m. everyday) will be run by expats Annabel and Sam Hemington.

News will be broadcast during 10-minute slots in between programs.

"The TBS eFM will provide foreign residents in the metropolitan area with up-to-date information and help bridge the gap between Koreans and non-Koreans," said Lee Joon-ho, broadcasting chief at TBS.

For the new English channel, TBS hired about 20 regular staff including producers and scriptwriters and more freelancers to run the shows. The city-funded broadcaster, which has not run product commercials so far on its existing Korean-language channels, is seeking commercials for eFM.

TBS is run on an annual budget of 30 billion won from Seoul City. Its annual sales are about 2 billion won, according to Lee Sang-hwa, director of the TBS news department.

By Kim So-hyun


([email protected])





2008.11.15

[maingman]

I hope to be nowheree near the place, to hear this

[Yaya]

TBS will probably be no different than the pathetic excuses for English-language broadcasts at Arirang or KBS World, the only difference being that you can hear it on the FM dial.

[legalquestions]

K pop did you say? No thanks, I think I''ll stick with AFN AM talk radio.

[komtengi]

I predict this will be much better than arirang will ever be...

[sojourner1]

Wow, I don't even own a radio anymore. I had one last year, but couldn't pick much of anything up on it. I used to listen to the radio a lot in the US and Europe as they had many stations and some good programming. Internet and IPOD kind of slowed it down, but it's nice to hear a friendly DJ voice give out the weather and other news and then surprise you with their favorite tunes.

If Korea really wants to learn English then it does need English radio, TV, and internet and actually use it as a part of every day living.

[Whirlwind]

Ah, another propaganda channel. The radio version of Arirang. Maybe they should call it "Radio Seoul", but they would have to find their version of Tokyo Rose. It will be more shameless propaganda

[bassexpander]

[Whirlwind]

Nice, Bass . But the English is too good for the Korean propaganda ministry. We need some slurring, mispronunciation and transposition. But yeah, I'm feeling the soothing Asian voice that followed the GI's across the Pacific in the 40's, now updated courtesy of Radio Seoul.