English Radio Service to Go on Air in Major Cities
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Park Kyung-soo, an American university graduate now working for a Seoul-based financial institute, has two things he always pockets before going to work: his cell phone and portable radio.
Leaving his home in Gangdong-gu, southeastern Seoul, at around 7 a.m., Park plugs in his earphones and tunes in the radio at 101.3 MHz ㅡ TBS eFM, the country's first public English-language radio station available in the capital, Incheon and surrounding areas.
The 28-year-old listens to the station on his way to and from his office in central Seoul.
``It's a nice tool to maintain my English proficiency,'' Park told The Korea Times. ``I used to listen to programs covering domestic and international currant affairs. The English pronunciation of the hosts and guests is pretty good, and the content as well. Whenever I listen to the channel, I feel like I'm listening to the radio airing in the United States.''
The station made its debut in Seoul last December, airing a total of 15 in-house programs covering news, music, weather and traffic information in the capital 21 hours per day from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m.
The station's trailblazing work has seen other stations crop up elsewhere in the country.
Since its launch, two more English-only stations have been established in Busan (Busan e-FM) and Gwangju (GFN), in March and April. And three more are to open this year in Ulsan, Daejeon and Daegu, meaning people in the country's seven major cities will have access to English-only radio.
Chronic complaints from foreign nationals over a lack of local information are a key reason for their establishment.
In May last year, the government responded by prioritizing the creation of English-language radio stations, with the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) implementing the plan.
Satisfaction surveys of target audiences ㅡ English-speaking foreign residents and tourists ㅡ has yet to be conducted, but many say ``so far so good.''
``It's very informative,'' said Tom Johnson, an English teacher in Seoul. ``It helps extend my knowledge of the local scene, including all aspects of performing and exhibition arts.''
Jane Struttmann, an American citizen who has been living here for two years, added, ``I love to listen to the radio.''
Locals have also responded positively, according to the station.
``It's much higher than expected,'' said Kim Nam-il, TBS eFM chief producer. ``We recently extended Internet servers to meet skyrocketing Internet traffic to our Web site. We are also seeing a rapid increase in the number of Koreans participating in programs through text messages and online message boards.''
Emerging Problems
Positive responses may prevail, but some fundamental problems have emerged.
The biggest challenge is a lack of people capable of producing, hosting or starring in programs in native-level English.
This, in part, is a result of the station's basic aim of delivering information in perfect English.
``To meet the goal, only those speaking English perfectly have had an opportunity in programs. There are many native-level English speakers, but not all of them are suitable for broadcasting,'' Kim said.
Most DJs and guests are experienced broadcasters and native English speakers, or Koreans who studied or lived in English-speaking countries for a considerable period of time, he said.
Oh So-hyun, a guest of the TBS eFM weekly ombudsman program, blamed the language-fluency-first policy for focusing too narrowly on only a very select band of countries, namely those where English is the native tongue.
``Most foreign performers are from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. So when they talk about something traditional in Korea and look up a similar one from overseas to compare it with, they always find an example from one of the four countries,'' Oh said. ``For example, we have Chuseok that is a holiday to express gratitude to a successful harvest. I believe every country in the world has a similar event, but DJs only say Chuseok is the same as Thanksgiving Day in America.''
The chief producer admitted that too much focus on language proficiency in selecting performers has undermined creativity, diversity and specialty.
``Due to a limited pool of performers, it's hard to meet the three factors at the same time when making programs,'' he said.
Kim Sung-soo, a keen English-radio listener, said, ``I used to listen to the morning news show. But its content is never in-depth and up-to-date. It's like a belated Korean-English translation, meaning what I listened to yesterday through Korean-language radio is reported the next day through the English radio channel.''
Kim said he had found few programs that are fresh enough and tailored to appeal to the foreign community.
Some foreign listeners say the radio is geared toward Korean students who are using the channel to study English.
``The program contents are overwhelmingly geared toward a Korean audience, not the expat community,'' said Sean Hayes, an American lawyer working in Seoul. ``Foreigners need `real' talk radio programs hosted by those with a professional background, such as businessmen, journalists, lawyers and the like.''
Oh suggested that a comprehensive satisfaction survey be conducted as early as possible in a bid to identify the problems.
Outsourced Content
While TBS eFM has produced all of its programs in-house with relatively sufficient manpower and funds, the two provincial stations have depended heavily on outside sources.
Staff at the provincial stations blamed a lack of manpower for their lack of original content.
Busan e-FM formed a partnership with TBS eFM and state-backed international broadcasting foundation Arirang.
Of its 21 hours of daily broadcasting, in-house programs account for just four. The remainder is organized with content from Arirang or TBS eFM. GFN operates under a similar situation.
A Busan e-FM executive, who refused to be named, said, ``In non-Seoul areas, finding fluent English speakers is a hard job. We barely employ enough people able to serve as PDs (production directors), writers and hosts.''
The KCC plans to conduct its first comprehensive satisfaction survey between July and September, with results due some time during the latter.
``Based on the result, we will set guidelines to upgrade content, employment processes and other administrative matters,'' said Jung Seung, a KCC official in charge of English radio.