The radio station TBS (its handle stands for "Traffic Broadcasting System") started off as a project by Seoul City's government to give up-to-the-minute traffic news to drivers in and around the city. It soon became more than that - providing radio programs with fun, entertainment and music to local audiences, with traffic updates from time to time. There is also TBS TV, available by satellite, and in new technology there is TBS DMB, which means Koreans can listen to DMB anywhere through their cell phones. As of yesterday, Dec. 1, there is now TBS eFM – all English, all the time, for Seoul's English-speaking population.
At the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Seoul an elaborate launch ceremony was held, with about 150 invited guests from Korea and other nations in attendance. Officiating over the ceremony were two Koreans, one of whom was once a German - Lee Charm. Lee, who will be presenting a nightly two-hour program on the new station, spoke in Korean while his lady co-host spoke in English. The proceedings began with some opening comments from the presenters, followed by the national anthem, played by a live Korean traditional music band.
After this, a group of dignitaries, including Mayor of Seoul Oh Se-hoon, President of TBS Lee Joon-ho and British Ambassador to Korea Martin Uden, came to the front of the hall for the countdown. Since the broadcast frequency of eFM is 101.3FM, the station kicked off its first broadcast at 10:01 and three seconds exactly. The first two hosts of the 9-11 a.m. morning show, Shane and Erica, were already at the eFM studio at the foot of Mt. Namsan, and an image of the broadcast studio was being shown at the launch ceremony. After a 10-1 countdown, the dignitaries all pushed the button to begin the live broadcast of TBS eFM.
Next came speeches. The mayor of Seoul gave a congratulatory speech. President Lee Myung-bak, while not present, delivered a pre-recorded speech on video. The chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, Choi See-joong, also made some remarks, follow by Ambassador Uden. All agreed how important and exciting it was for Korea to finally have an English-language radio station that is aimed not chiefly at the military (as the USFK's AFN is) or at Koreans learning English (as Arirang radio is) but at foreign residents in Korea.
TBS eFM is on air from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. seven days a week, with an eclectic mix of programming. Korea.net News reports about the latest happenings and developments in Seoul, Korea and the world will be broadcast on the hour, and traffic information for the Seoul area will be given at 57 minutes past each hour on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. At first the station will reach Seoul, Gyeonggi-do (Gyeonggi Province) and Incheon, but in early 2009 it will begin to cover Gwangju and Busan.
Listeners can tune in on their radios at 101.3 FM, on their mobile phones DMB (digital media broadcasting) or using live streaming on the internet, at http://tbsefm.seoul.kr. A complete broadcast schedule can also be seen at the site, and it also includes message boards, photo galleries and more information about each program.
Incidentally, this writer will be a recurring guest on TBS eFM's 4-6 p.m. drivetime program, hosted by Australian Sam Hammington and Briton Annabelle Ambrose, presenting information on cultural news around Korea from Korea.net.
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[ TBS PM 05_00_48 2008 03 Dec Wed debut eFM ]
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By Jacco Zwetsloot
Korea.net Staff Editor
