| Arirang TV President and CEO Moon Jae-wan speaks during a press conference at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club in Seoul |
By Kim Jae-heun
South Korea's English-language Arirang TV has begun airing on the U.K.'s biggest satellite platforms SKY UK and Freesat at midnight, Tuesday. This is the first time for a Korean TV channel to broadcast 24 hours a day in high definition in the U.K.
Arirang TV has been airing shows to promote Korea in 106 countries, but entering into a media network in globally influential countries such as the U.K. or the U.S. has been a difficult and longtime demanding task.
Now the Korean English TV station provides its services in the U.K. as well as the U.S. through the global satellite platform DirecTV and the U.N.'s In-house Network. The shows providing information about Korea are expected to reach 11 million viewers on SKY UK, which occupies 60 percent of the paid TV market in the U.K., and 1.9 million on Freesat, a free-of-charge service.
"As you can see from the recent Brexit case, the United Kingdom is in the middle of the world," said Arirang TV President and CEO Moon Jae-wan. "The country plays a big role not only in economics but also in culture and politics globally. Such a chance to build up a favorable image of Korea in the U.K. can create economic benefits there for many industries."
Moon added that the shows aired by the broadcaster will differ according to region. In Europe, Arirang TV will air shows related to high-level culture and business while shows in Southeast Asia will focus on entertainment, including K-pop and K-dramas. In America, the TV station will expand its news programs and debate shows on East Asian affairs as the United States plays a huge role in keeping the peace in the region.
Arirang TV also plans on differentiating its programming produced for international and domestic viewers. The shows aired in Korea will provide information for expats in the country.
"There is no media in the world that has more broadcasting image data about Korea in English than we have. In the last 20 years we have accumulated the content and we are ready to share it with people who wish to know more about Korean culture and history, be it foreigner or native," said Moon.
Arirang TV has been categorized as a news channel by the satellite platforms, airing alongside many international broadcasters including NHK World, CCTV News, Russia Today and France 24. Arirang TV has been allocated channel 690 on SKY UK and channel 214 on Freesat.
The Korean English-language TV station plans to enter the European market in the near future.