By Shim Jae-yun
“Like a helping hand unraveling tangled thread, (we provide) wisdom and information to distribute and link.”
These are the lyrics of a trademark jingle for Traffic Broadcasting System (tbs) around the time it was launched 21 years ago.
As the song expresses, the broadcasting company was meant to disperse traffic updates while offering information on the daily lives of Seoul citizens. It has continued to grow to become an essential source for drivers to turn on 95.1 FM to acquire prompt and precise information on traffic conditions and the weather or to just enjoy good music and entertainment.
In many senses, tbs is essential in a nation notorious for traffic congestion coupled with prevalent rude driving habits to the extent of intimidating novice drivers.
CEO of tbs, Lee Joon-ho, said the station will continue to work hard as a unique broadcasting system that is jointly created like a mosaic, fusing together five channels to provide a genuine broadcast.
“We pursue a broadcasting system that citizens of Seoul and surrounding areas can refer to for all information relevant to one’s daily life,” Lee said in an interview with The Korea Times, Thursday.
In addition to the tbs FM (95.1 FM), it now operates tbs eFM (101.3 FM) which is the all-English radio station, Chinese and Japanese broadcasts under the tbs World (DMB), and tbs TV which is provided through cable and IPTV.
“As one joint broadcast through these various media outlets, tbs strives to relay useful and practical information to its neighbors and friends, otherwise referred to as its audience,” Lee said.
As of the round-the-clock English broadcasting, Lee said tbs will seek to become a flagship station covering big cities across the nation, beyond Seoul and its vicinity. “We are currently providing content to Busan and Gwangju broadcasting stations and will expand such provision to other major cities like Ulsan and Daegu.”
He said tbs has been playing the role as the sole English broadcasting firm to offer daily life information for foreigners living in Korea and will expand its mission in the future.
Besides information on accommodation, traffic, weather, and culture, English programs also cover current issues with an in-depth analysis plus real time interviews with local and overseas experts.
“We can boast that some of the English news programs provide more profound and wider coverage than other domestic broadcasting,” he said.
Lee added a growing number of students and young company employees and experts have begun to show interest in the English programs in an apparent bid to both gain information and study English.
“We provide the content through various applications for mobile phones and SNS, which further increases the listening audience of the English broadcasting programs,” he said.