TBS Launches DMB Seoul of Asia
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
Foreigners always complain about the lack of English-language information about concerts, shows, exhibits and other events happening around Seoul. The state-run Traffic Broadcasting System (TBS) is hoping to address the information gap with its new English-language show ``Seoul of Asia,'' available on digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) bandwidth.
``Seoul of Asia,'' hosted by Dorothy Nam and Travis Beck, is a fun mix of news, information, traffic updates and music. The show's target audience is foreign residents and tourists in Seoul.
TBS president Lee Joon-ho said ``Seoul of Asia'' is part of TBS' commitment to provide much-needed English-language programs for foreign residents and tourists in Seoul.
``There are 1 million foreign residents, and the number is increasing. We recognize the need to have a program that will give information to foreign residents, about living comfortably in Seoul,''' he told The Korea Times.
``Seoul of Asia'' is aired from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., Monday to Friday. This is TBS' second English-language show on DMB, after ``Seoul to Go,'' which was launched late last year.
Nam and Beck, both Korean-Americans, keep the show fun and light, but highly informative.
``We want to have foreigners as our main core audience. Imagine if you have a lot of foreigners coming to Korea and they don't speak the language, they're not going to know what to do, what the customs are and how to adjust to life in Korea. What we want to do is shed some light on subjects that might be hard for them to understand as well as basically let them know that even if they're a foreigner here in Korea, there's lots of foreign community events going on here,'' Beck said.
Every day, the show has a different segment. On Mondays, Global Talk features foreigners living in Seoul; on Tuesdays, What's Up in Korea is about events happening around Seoul; on Wednesdays, Amazing East covers cultural information on Korea; on Thursdays, Soap Box is about Korean dramas and entertainment; and on Fridays, Melting Pot features events and activities in the foreign community.
Nam said the show also offers tourism information, K-pop music, quiz on Korean culture and real-time traffic updates in Seoul. There is also a segment called ``Do You Like Kimchi,''' where they talk to expatriates about their experiences living in Korea.
``We ask for suggestions from our listeners because the best way we can meet the needs of our listeners is to get feedback, so we can evolve and change the show,'' Beck said.
Foreigners can go on the TBS Web site (www.tbs.seoul.kr), go to the DMB section and click on ``Seoul of Asia.'' Here they can listen to the show online, or leave messages on the Web site. Listeners can also send a text message to #2898 on their cell phone for 50 won.
TBS is planning on further expanding its foreign programming, Lee said. TBS will launch a two-hour show in Chinese in April, and a show in Japanese within the year.
``We always think that foreigners who travel to Seoul all speak English, but we notice the number of Chinese tourists are increasing every year, so we will introduce a Chinese show. We want to introduce programs in three basic languages, English, Chinese and Japanese,'' Lee said.
The TBS FM channel 95.1 Mhz also offers an English-Korean language show ``Seoul Today'' everyday from 11:40 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. Traffic information is also broadcast in English at 55 minutes past the hour, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.