Apart from AFN Korea (Armed Forces Network), Korea has one other English language broadcast network - Arirang TV. Those of you who occasionally watch it may be mystified by some of the cheesy programs and occasionally flawed English voiceovers. Recently one memorable commercial for - I think - the Nonghyup Bank - had the tagline that began “Bucket of sweat will determine the money in my wallet” or something incredible like that. Kudos to the person who remembers the entire tagline and posts it here. I think I have found the reason for some of their funky English.
THis week I noticed that Arirang are looking for a DJ for their new FM English language radio station. The ad begins with “Break into the radio business now!” and then further down the page is written under requirements/eligibility “g) Experience as a radio DJ (highly compensated)”. This is a little confusing. Nevertheless, requirement (b) is obviously b) Native Speaker of English or Perfect command of English (written and verbal) - as you’d expect for a radio station broadcasting in English, right?
However, the application procedure appears to be entirely in Korean. The ad asks for a Korean language CV and introductory letter to be sent to Arirang. (The cv form they have attached to the bottom of the ad includes military service details, by the way.) Perhaps the interview is in Korean also.
When I called the station to ask for more details (people always tell me I have a good head for radio), I was informed that the daily 2 hour show would be entirely scripted in Korean by a Korean, and the DJ would have to translate this - off hand - into English and that would be the substance of the program. Doesn’t sound like much creative input or freedom for the DJ there, does it? Would an ethnic broadcaster in another country be able to do this for long before the community that station was supposed to be serving was up in arms about it?
When I asked a friend who used to work in the Arirang TV news room about this he said it was likely because Arirang are very uptight about providing the right image for Korea to outsiders, and they are afraid of what a non-Korean DJ might say. So it seems that, like Korean English-language newspapers, Arirang serves more as a propaganda outlet for Korea than as an actual organ of entertainment and information for non-Korean residents of Korea!
If anyone gets this job, please write in and let us know how it turns out. It sounds like it’ll be very frustrating.
13 Comments
If you are worried about protecting your image, perhaps it’s time to fix the problem rather than just covering up or relying on band-aid solutions. I wish that Korean’s would stop keeping their heads in the sand like a myopic ostrich.
would the same happen here? well, yes; if chanel seven wants it’s point of
view in korean, then, it gets somebody who can speak korean to read
their point in korean. see?
arirang meant to introduce korean culture to the world. it’s not a form
meant for foreigners to paint korea for other foreigners.
ethnic televison stations here in the states either owned by
ethnics or rented. if you did the same in korea, you could say whatever
you like.
In Australia ethnic radio stations are owned by the government or are community owned public broadcasters. And yet the ethnics are allowed to run their own programs. It doesn’t become a propaganda mouthpiece for government or “Australia’s national interest.”
Shin Jong Il, you are an interesting one. I’m sure you would not like to work in radio if everything was scripted for you in another language other than the one being broadcast in. Apart from the issue of creative control and the freedom to express yourself on air (within reasonable guidelines set by the station of course) there is the problem of linguistics here: some things can be said in Korean but don’t go well in English. (like the favourite of many pop singers “????? ????? ????????????? ??????????.”) Having a script written by a Korean in Korean, and then being asked to read this script on air while just doing a basic translation on the fly reeks of linguistic problems, not to mention unprofessionalism.
Please check the sites about rltt
…
personal loans
You can also visit the pages on payday loans discover card home loans
ply pkr nln wth t rl mny
You are invited to check out the sites about Fr nln Strp Pkr Gm
diet pills statistics
You are invited to visit some relevant information about apple cider vinegar diet pill
play online poker tournament
You may find it interesting to check out the pages about real poker online Free Online Poker Games
diet pills on tv
In your free time, check out some relevant pages on diet pills international line pills
nationaler basketballverband
You can also check out some helpful info about nfl football
california lotto number
Take your time to check out some information dedicated to lucky number finding
dscvr crd
Take your time to take a look at the pages dedicated to dscvr crd csh dvnc
play free strip poker
Take your time to visit some information about free cartoon strip poker