Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation

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Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
Image:Munhwa Broadcasting Company.jpg
Type Broadcast radio and
television
Country South Korea
Availability National, United States (Satellite, certain Metropolitan areas over-the-air)
Owner The Foundation of Broadcast Culture <FBC>
Key people Ohm Ki-young, CEO & President
Launch date 1961 (radio); 1969 (television); 2001 (digital); 2005 (DMB)
Website
www.imbc.com
Korean name
Hangul 문화방송
Hanja 文化放送
Revised
Romanization		 Munhwa Bangsong
McCune-
Reischauer		 Munhwa Pangsong

Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) is one of four major national South Korean television and radio networks. It is particularly famous for its dramas and comedies. Munhwa is the Korean word for "culture." Its flagship terrestrial television station is Channel 11 for VHF. MBC has always been rated number one in terms of credibility, popularity, audience ratings and influence,

Once government-owned, the Foundation of Broadcast Culture owns 70% and the Jung-Su scholarship association owns 30% of MBC stocks. MBC receives no government subsidies and derives its income almost entirely from regular commercial advertising. It has 19 local stations and several subsidiaries.

It has provided terrestrial TV digital TV service in the ATSC standard from 2001 and T-DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) service from 2005.

T-DMB is a mobile TV broadcasting service and over 10 million T-DMB sets are sold at the middle of 2008.

Contents

[edit] History

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MBC Headquarters(Building), Yeouido, Seoul, South Korea

The origin of MBC was Busan Munhwa Bangsong (Busan Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation; Busan MBC), the first private broadcasting corporation,established in 1959, Busan, South Korea. Busan MBC started its service with 1 kW AM radio and renowned for broadcasting the first CM Song in South Korea. Busan MBC launched MBC (in Seoul) in 1961, with a small AM radio broadcaster (Today, the best heavy stockholder of Busan MBC is MBC (in Seoul)). It began television broadcasting on August 8, 1969 and FM radio broadcasts in 1971. Partly to address such concerns in light of the country's 1987 democratic reforms, the National Assembly established the Foundation for Broadcast Culture on December 26, 1988, to insulate MBC from political influence.

Since then, the network has promoted its independence and declared its mission to be one of public service and the promotion of Korean culture. The past ten years have seen MBC adopt an increasingly leftist and nationalist stance. Since 1997 it has refused to broadcast music with all-English language lyrics. In 2001 it proclaimed its support for President Kim Dae-jung's New Year's Day call for "reform" of the mass media, which was chiefly aimed at conservative daily newspapers that had been critical of his regime.

Also in 2001, MBC launched satellite television and cable television broadcasting. As part of this expansion it created MBC America, a subsidiary based in Los Angeles, California, USA to distribute its programming throughout The Americas.

On August 1, 2008, MBC America launched MBC-D, a television service carried on the digital subchannels of KSCI-TV, KTSF-TV, and WMBC-TV. The service was to be launched in Atlanta, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. by the end of the year. [1][2] In northeast metro Atlanta it airs over the air on WKTB-LD channel 47.3.

*Address 31, Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 150-728, Korea

*Contact Numbers Telephone +82-2-789-2851~6, Facsimile +82-2-782- 3094

*Website Main Site http://www.imbc.com About MBC http://aboutmbc.imbc.com Global Media http://content.mbc.co.kr

*Ownership The Foundation for Broadcast Culture (70%) The Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation (30%)

*Property MBC Broadcasting Center (Seoul) MBC Corporate Center (Seoul) MBC Dream Center (Ilsan) MBC Studio , HR Training Center & Jewel in the Palace Theme Park (Yangju)

*Employees 4,361 (Executives: 43, Staff: 3,730, Contract: 588) < 2008.2.29 >

*Financial Statement US$1,665 million

*Network Regional Stations : 19 Subsidiaries : 10

[edit] MBC Channels

One Terrestrial TV, Three Radio(AM, FM, Standard FM),
Four Cable (Drama , Sports, Game, and Variety),
Four Satellite (Drama , Sports, Game, and Variety),
Three Terrestrial DMB (TV, Radio, Data),
Two Satellite DMB (Drama , Sports) channels

[edit] MBC programs

Further information: List of programmes broadcast by MBC Radio
Further information: List of programmes broadcast by MBC TV

[edit] Program Guide

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Drama

Taking the Korean Wave All Over the World

MBC is widely known as the “Kingdom of Drama,” producing about 730 hours of quality dramas a year and has dominated domestic audience ratings for the past 5 decades.

MBC dramas have gained a prominent stance in the international arena, too. Trendy and fun dramas have driven the so-called “Korean Wave” across Asia. MBC dramas are being exported to 30 countries including those in Asia, Middle East, Africa and the Americas.

<Jewel in the Palace>, in particular, set the record high audience ratings in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and the popularity has continued in 50 countries including Japan. <Jumong-Prince of the Legend> (2006’s smash hit in Korea hovering above 50% of ratings), <Coffee Prince>, and <Lee San, Wind of the Palace> (2007 Blockbuster in Korea) are sure to succeed <Jewel in the Palace> to propel the “Korean Wave” force.

Entertainment

Developing a New Genre of Entertainment

MBC entertainment programs captivate the audience and leave a lasting impression. An optimal blend of public service and entertainment value creates award-winning programs. These programs have helped to trigger nationwide public service projects illustrating what entertainment programs can do for a greater social cause.

MBC’s hallmark reality program <The Unlimited Challenge> has become a cultural icon of Korea recording high audience ratings for three consecutive years. <Exclamation!> not only gave laughter but also deeply touched the hearts of the audience. The two programs showed the potential of new entertainment genres.

Armed with fresh ideas, MBC variety programs are clearly distinguished from ordinary likes, even sending reverberations throughout the society.

Current Affairs & Documentaries

Applying an Innovative Perspective

MBC documentaries strike a delicate balance between education and entertainment. MBC documentaries, recognized for their human touch, encompass a wide range of issues ? society, foreign affairs and environment. Recent documentaries, especially <Ganges ? The allure of the golden land> and <The Yellow Liver>, demonstrated MBC’s advanced HD technology and sophisticated production skills. Medical program <Doctors> has moved audiences more than a drama does, as the reality program deals with real people and gives them hopes.

<Producer’s Note> which first aired in 1990, has earned fame and prestige for its in-depth investigations from producers’ perspectives. Dealing with the scandal over Prof. Hwang’s fabricated stem cell research, it mirrored the very spirit of MBC.

MBC current affair and documentary programs have won recognitions from such prestigious international TV festivals as New York TV Festival, Banff TV Festival, ABU Prizes, Earth Vision, Asian TV Awards and Japan Wildlife Festival.

News & Sports

Smaller World, Wider MBC News

MBC news has been the eyes and ears of Koreans for the last five decades, bringing the most up-to-date, accurate and impartial information across the country. With 19 regional stations in Korea, 9 permanent overseas bureaus, and service arrangements with CNN, APTN, Reuters TV and NBC, MBC delivers the world into our homes.

MBC also produces in-depth analysis programs such as <News Magazine 2580>, <News Who>, <100-Minute Debate>, <Economy Magazine>, <Global Report> and <North Korea Report>, which cover political, economic, social and cultural issues of the day.

MBC news has earned the trust of Koreans as the most reliable and credible source of information.


MBC Sports http://sports.imbc.com/contents/html/main.asp 

MBC EPSN http://www.mbcespn.com/

[edit] Indecent exposure controversy

In the summer of 2005, MBC faced criticism when two teenage male performers, Shin and Oh (members of the Korean punk rock band Couch) were caught dropping their pants and exposing their genitalia on the television live music program Music Camp[3]. South Korea's conservative culture ensured that there would be strong criticism from government officials and the general public (including some strong reactions from netizens). Although the short-term fallout from this scandal resulted in the program being cancelled, its producers reprimanded,[4] and its two MCs (MC Mong and Shinji from popular dance group Koyote) fired, there were no lasting effects, as its replacement program Music Core is still very similar to its predecessor.

[edit] PD Notebook and allegations of unethical journalism

MBC along with KBS had long spurred controversy for news coverage allegedly biased to the left as a result of 10 years of liberal control of the government (Korea's television networks tend to sway with changes in the administration).[5] Among its news programs, "PD Notebook" (alternatively, "PD Note," "PD Diary," or "PD Journal") has been the most controversial.

While PD Notebook has been provocative from its inception, it first attracted nationwide controversy when it discovered scientific fraud committed by the Korean geneticist Hwang Woo-Suk. Although the information uncovered was true, factual, and instrumental in uncovering Hwang's misconduct, strong support for Hwang at the time led many companies to pull their advertising out of the show[6] (public support for the disgraced scientist dwindled rapidly thereafter). PD Notebook's methods for obtaining information were widely criticized as unethical.[7][8]

PD Notebook and MBC would face massive controversy again when they in turn were accused of defrauding their viewers, and inciting three months of massive protests in Seoul. In the spring of 2008, PD Notebook broadcast an episode titled “Is American Beef Really Safe from Mad Cow Disease,” which alleged that the reopening of the Korean market to US beef imports would introduce the threat of mad cow disease to the Korean population. In its broadcast, PD Notebook made numerous claims later proven to be either exaggerations or unsourced fabrications apparently invented ad hoc. Some of these included the claim that 94% of Koreans carried a gene that made them uniquely vulnerable to mad cow disease [9][10], that the US would export beef to Korea from cattle over 30 months of age that they did not eat themselves,[11] that mad cow disease could be induced with a 100% fatality rate by consuming 0.01 gram of specified risk material,[12] and that mad cow disease could be spread through consuming instant noodles.[13] In addition to these claims, PD Notebook’s coverage of the issue relied on various tactics that were censured as ethically questionable, including most vividly, the depiction of American downer cows (cows too sick to walk) as cows infected with mad cow disease.[14] In fact, there was no evidence the cattle in the clip in question were infected with mad cow disease[15], and downer cows are also routinely slaughtered for human consumption in Korea. [16] Finally, the broadcast also depicted the death of an American woman as likely due to mad cow disease[17] (the woman was later confirmed as having died of Wernicke's encephalopathy)[18], including the apparently intentional mistranslation of subtitles to make it appear as if she had died of BSE. [19][20] None of the claims made by PD Notebook or repeated later by MBC in its subsequent news coverage with respect to American beef were true.

PD Notebook's mad cow coverage played a pivotal role in inciting three months of massive protests in Korea, and these protests imposed heavy direct and indirect costs on Korean society.[21] When criticism turned to MBC and PD Notebook, MBC at first denied any wrongdoing,[22] stalled,[23][24] and then blamed it on "mistranslations," a tactic that outraged their translator.[25] MBC then accused its critics as mounting an attack on the press,[26] before finally being compelled to broadcast an apology for false reporting by the Korea Communications Commission .[27] Despite the court ordered apology (which MBC subsequently appealed[28]), MBC still maintains that the PD Notebook episode in question was legitimate criticism of the government made in the interest of safeguarding public health,[29] and has not canceled PD Notebook. MBC has not complied with court ordered summons as part of a subsequent criminal investigation. The program remains on the air, and has since been subject to various legal actions, including a failed class action lawsuit, and sporadic attempts at investigation that have been physically blocked by MBC.[30]

In June 2009, MBC lost its appeal and was ordered to broadcast even more corrections.[31] Five staff members were indicted without detention on charges of defaming government officials and obstructing the business of beef importers.[32] According to the prosecution, MBC mistranslated 30 scenes in the episode, omitted explanations for important facts about the scenes, and reported false information.[33] MBC dismissed the charges as "politically motivated." Prosecutors also publicly disclosed the contents of personal emails sent by one of the writers via a portal service, which they claimed demonstrated malicious intent. This caused the writer in question to countersue the prosecutors for libel, and spurred debate on whether the prosecution had infringed on privacy.[34][35]

MBC has continued to court controversy in its news coverage. It was censured by the KCC again for its coverage of government plans to relax regulations on media ownership.[36] Its new union head described its coverage as biased and "unfair," leading to damaged credibility among the public, low ratings, and growing deficits.[37].

At the same time, the government's attempts to criminally prosecute[38] PD Notebook for unethical reporting have raised questions of freedom of the press in Korea, even where that freedom is used to knowingly propagate false information.[39][40][41] For its part, MBC has not cooperated with the prosecution's investigations on the pretext of "protecting sources" (even though the identities of all persons on the evidence in question, i.e. PD Notebook's original videotapes, are already known).[42] MBC has continued to be the center of disputes regarding its management and for its news coverage, including a "production strike,"[43] and actions taken against the threat of privatization.[44]

[edit] MBC subsidiaries

[edit] iMBC

iMBC is MBC's official website, providing users with various information on current and past programs and allowing users to download or stream programs to watch.

Established March 2000 as the internet subsidiary of MBC, iMBC uses the digital contents of MBC to provide various contents to internet, mobile and ISP users and foreign businesses. iMBC also plans projects for creating, developing, and circulating new contents.

The site offers free and paid VOD services for users to view various programs online. While the public service programs, News, Radio, and programs currently on air are free, dramas, entertainment, and current affairs programs are not.

For viewers in Korea and abroad, iMBC offers VOD streaming services. An episode typically costs around ₩500, and there is a fixed fee that allows users to watch as many videos as they want for ₩4,000 a day or ₩15,000 a month. For users that are abroad, iMBC offers VOD download and streaming services, available for ₩1000 (about $1 US) each.

[edit] Foreign Partners

Foreign Partners[45]
Partner Country
ABC Austrailia
ABS-CBN Philippines
GMA Network
BBC UK
CBC Canada
CBS USA
NBC USA
CNN USA
France 2 France
SMG China
CCTV China
NHK Japan
Fuji Television Japan
ZDF Germany

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.mbc24tv.com/html/dtv_en.asp
  2. ^ http://www.mbc24tv.com/html/dtv_faq.asp
  3. ^ Korea Times Search
  4. ^ Joongang Daily article
  5. ^ [http://www.koreaherald.co.kr Lee Jung-bock: POLITICAL CHANGES IN KOREA(33) Korea on path to mature liberal democracy, 2008/02/15]
  6. ^ Bad Marks All Round In Hwang Scandal. Retrieved October 14, 2006.
  7. ^ MBC suspends producers for breaching ethics
  8. ^ Media ethics judged, found wanting
  9. ^ Mad Cow Thesis Twisted Out of All Proportion
  10. ^ If not nationalism, what drives protests?
  11. ^ The Medium is the Monster
  12. ^ MBC Manipulated Mad Cow Disease Report: Prosecutors
  13. ^ What to Do About Media Fabrications
  14. ^ Media fuels mad cow fears
  15. ^ [ http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2892992 Prosecutors say PD Diary deliberately twisted facts]
  16. ^ Video footage of downer cow in Korea
  17. ^ More Allegations Against ‘PD Diary’ Surface
  18. ^ Woman on PD Diary did not die of mad cow
  19. ^ Prosecutors find PD Diary Guilty
  20. ^ Arrogance of MBC News Program`s Staff
  21. ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSSEO29363S.Korea beef protests cost economy $2.5 bln-study
  22. ^ MBC distorted risk of US beef
  23. ^ Unconscionable behavior by MBC
  24. ^ Lawmakers say MBC covered up mad cow errors
  25. ^ MBC’s excuse maddens translator
  26. ^ MBC Must Come Clean, Academics Demand
  27. ^ MBC 'PD Notebook' Regrets Incorrect Report on US Beef
  28. ^ ‘PD Diary’ appeals correction order for mad cow show
  29. ^ MBC offers apology over US beef report
  30. ^ Probe Into TV News Program
  31. ^ MBC ordered to broadcast two more corrections
  32. ^ 5 From MBC Indicted Over Mad Cow Reporting
  33. ^ Staffers indicted for controversial mad cow episode
  34. ^ Is Making Private Emails Public Justifiable?
  35. ^ PD Notebook indictment generates email search and seizure controversy
  36. ^ MBC is ordered to apologize for media bill stories
  37. ^ New MBC union head calls news coverage ‘unfair’
  38. ^ Four more ‘PD Diary’ staff arrested
  39. ^ Press should unite in support of MBC
  40. ^ The limits of journalists' rights
  41. ^ Investigation into MBC program raises questions about press freedoms
  42. ^ LMB’s prosecutors against freedom of the press
  43. ^ MBC reporters continue their seventh day of production boycott
  44. ^ Impending threat of privatization led MBC to join broadcasting strike
  45. ^ ZDF agrees cooperation with Chinese and Korean broadcasters, ZDF(press-release), Retrieved on June 9, 2004.

[edit] External links

[edit] Korean

[edit] English

[edit] See Also

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munhwa_Broadcasting_Corporation"
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