By Lee Tae-hoon
Arirang TV, a state-run English-language broadcaster set up with the aim of improving the nation’s brand image, is causing its Korean viewers to cringe with embarrassing translation mistakes and written errors.
Observers say problems still plague the public broadcaster, which receives about 30 billion won ($26.5 million) annually in government funding, despite former CNN Seoul bureau chief Sohn Jie-ae taking the helm.
One example is the headline for a recent news report that read, “NK’s Kim Jung-un visits base that torpedoed Yeonpyong Island,” wrongfully suggesting that a North Korean submarine attacked the South Korean border island off the west coast.
“Arirang TV appears to have confused North Korea’s torpedoing of the warship Cheonan with the communist country’s artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island,” a viewer in Seoul said.
He noted that the broadcaster also inconsistently spelled the island, referring to it as both Yeonpyong and Yeonpyeong.
A Korean viewer living in the United States said he was “so ashamed and shocked” to watch an Arirang TV program that introduced “sarang bang,” a reception room in traditional Korean houses, as a “love room.”
Native English speakers would interpret love room as a place for sexual engagement.
“I hope not many foreigners watched today’s show,” the viewer in San Jose, Calif. complained after watching an episode of Korea Today, Arirang’s flagship program.
“If there are such horrible mistakes, it would be a shame for the whole nation, not only for the individual or the broadcasting company.”
Native English speakers say that numerous spelling errors and translation mistakes can also be found on the websites of Showbiz Korea, an Arirang entertainment news program, and other shows.
The website of Showbiz Korea introduces one of Arirang TV’s music programs as “Simply K-po!” The correct title is “Simply K-pop.”
An insider from the broadcaster says that such silly mistakes continue to haunt the TV network due to the lack of qualified staff members and an insufficient budget allocated for copyediting.
“Due to the lack of copyediting staff, some programs are aired without any proofreading or screening,” he said.
“The substandard quality of written English can also be attributed to a serious shortage of experienced reporters. The most seasoned reporter in the newsroom has about five years experience.”
Two senior staff members were recently found guilty of embezzling some 320 million won, following a Korea Times’ report that program producers misappropriated subordinates’ wages and diverted the money to a number of borrowed-name accounts.