Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
Encyclopedia : M : MU : MUN : Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Company) 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 station is Channel 11 in Seoul.
Once government-owned, the network is today 70% owned by the Foundation for Broadcast Culture. It receives no government subsidies and derives its income almost entirely from regular commercial advertising. Seven of its 19 local stations are independent affiliates.
History
MBC was founded in 1961 as a small AM radio broadcaster in Seoul. It began television broadcasting on August 8, 1969 and FM radio broadcasts in 1971.A mob outraged by the official media's coverage of the progressing Gwangju massacre stormed MBC's building in Gwangju on the night of May 20, 1980. Unable to operate the broadcasting equipment, they set it afire. 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. 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 the national daily newspapers.
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.
Official logo
- 1969~1980:Kyeonghyang Sinmun as other symbol in logo
- 1980~1985:MBC 1st font logo
- 1986~2004:MBC 2nd font logo (other hangul)
- 2005~:MBC 3rd font logo (new font)
See also
- MBC Voice Acting Division
- MBC Game
- List of South Korean broadcasting networks
- List of Korea-related topics
- Contemporary culture of South Korea
External links
- [MBC] official site, in Korean
- [MBC America]
- [MBC English language website]
- [MBC Overseas]
- [MBC Global Media] English language homepage
- [MBC AD Communication]
- [MBC Production] official site in VHS & DVD Video Shopping mall from MBC
- [MBC Dream-Tree Soccer Association] Korea's Child soccer associates from MBC
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.