KBS Busan Broadcasting Station
The KBS Busan Broadcasting Station (Korean: KBS부산방송총국) is a unit of the Korean Broadcasting System based in Busan, catering the city itself and parts of Yangsan, in South Gyeongsang Province.
History
It was established in mid-1934 under Japanese rule, owned by the Korean Broadcasting Corporation (KBA), which was planning the creation of radio stations outside of Seoul. Busan was the main candidate. In December 1934, the plan to establish the station was finalized and received approval from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications on May 28, 1935. Less than two months later, on July 23, its test broadcasts began, becoming regular in September. The station used the JBAK callsign, which was derived from the Japanese system, with the letter B being used for most stations licensed to the Korean puppet state. An opening ceremony was held on September 21 and heard nationwide.[1]
JBAK divided its airtime between three types of programs: those produced locally, those produced in Gyeongseong and those produced in Japan. Programs had no fixed airtime, often starting and ending in an arbitrary manner. The only exceptions to the rule were the news bulletins (at 12pm and 7pm) and the stock and grain price reports.[1] By June 1936, it was producing a music program heard nationwide, and was also planning exchanges with stations in Manchuria. On June 20–21, 1936, it held the All-Chosun Football Tournament, held by the Busan Sports Association and sponsored by the local division of the Dong-A Ilbo.[1]
The Busan station planned the implementation of a second station in the early 40s, however the intensification of the war in the region led to its deactivation on April 27, 1942. This meant that the second station did not launch as planned. The station was reactivated on November 10, 1943, and, due to radio control rules, the two stations were merged.[1]
After the liberation of Korea on August 15, 1945, the station was put under the control of the Korean Broadcasting System and had its callsign changed to HLKB. The station moved to 650kc and doubled its output to 500 watts. On November 5, 1957, the station increased its power to 10 killowatts and moved its frequency to 820kc.[2] In 1953, it covered the monetary reform on February 15 and the release of jailed anti-communist supporters on June 18.[2] An office in Dongrae was established in December 1961, while the Busan station moved to 890kc. A further office in Gimhae opened in May 1969, also on 890kc, and with an output of 50 kilowatts.[2]
On April 10, 1968, television broadcasts began (HLKB-TV, channel 9). On June 26, 1972, the station transferred from Daechong-dong to a new building at Choryong-dong, and started broadcasting from the new location on November 15. FM broadcasts began on 92,7 MHz on July 10, 1980, followed by a second station on 97,1 MHz on March 16, 1981. It was promoted to a full subsidiary on July 16, 1984, and on May 20, 1988, it moved to the finished building at Namcheon-dong.[2]
A digital terrestrial transmitter was installed on December 5, 2003, and digital broadcasts started July 12, 2004.[2]