Podcaster takes chance on Korea
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Podcaster Chance Dorland / Courtesy of Clayton Jones
By Jon Dunbar
When radio broadcaster Chance Dorland came to Korea in 2013, he found the local English broadcast media lacking, held back by censorship and rigidity. So he decided to build his own audio empire, culminating in Korea FM.
“Korea FM was my way of giving myself an outlet to do reporting and have discussions on topics that I probably could do as a reporter or broadcaster in America but often cannot do here in South Korea,” he told The Korea Times.
“And truthfully, I also wanted to show that one person can do a better job than even some of the biggest Korean media entities by just telling the truth and not being afraid,” he added.
He launched the online podcast platform last year with help from friends, streaming Korean indie music and releases the more-than-weekly “Korea FM Talk Radio & News Podcasts.”
He brings on regular guests such as ex-Marmot’s Hole blogger Robert Koehler to discuss current events, Facebook community “Only in Korea ― OinK” founder Travis Hull on anything fun or controversial and LA Review of Books writer Colin Marshall for culture and living.
Dorland is certain they’re Korea’s top non-education English-language podcast, hitting about half a million downloads and streams and making the front page of the Korea iTunes Store. His 150-plus episodes are free to listen but Dorland accepts small donations through patreon.com/KoreaFM after fans urged him to set up a donation system.
“All this has been accomplished with me doing this in my spare time with the help of some other people here and there,” said Dorland, “so I’m very optimistic that with more resources, Korea FM could grow its audience and cover even more important stories and topics that otherwise might be censored or ignored.”
Dorland has been into radio since he started working for a “mom and pop” radio station in Iowa in his senior year of high school. He studied radio and TV broadcasting at Emerson College in Boston, and his career took him to bigger ponds, working for big names like Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and his “radio idol” Adam Carolla. After a stint with the Peace Corps in Colombia, he moved to Korea, attracted by its culture, food and media job market.
He may have over a decade of experience, but he encourages anyone who’s interested to start a podcast.
“Anyone can start a podcast,” he said. “That doesn’t mean your podcast will be good or is even worth listening to, but you can still be genuine.”
Visit KoreaFM.net or facebook.com/KoreaFM to listen in.