Big shake-ups at Seoul's English-language radio station.

Joe from Zen Kimchi tells us about some of the big moves at TBS eFM, the English-language radio station that debuted in December. Sara Kim, a Korean-American from Atlanta, said she was replaced on "Soul of Asia" by Michael Meyers because "they said I wasn't Korean enough." Also gone is Son Jong-min, host of "K-popular" better known on this site for those bikini photos. Joe says that two of the bigger names at the station, Lee Cham---a naturalized Korean from Germany---and Daniel Gray of Seoul Eats, are also gone. He concludes with:

For some, this confirms that TBS eFM was never for foreigners in the first place but was just another Arirang-style English language radio station for Koreans to listen to in the office to appear to their colleagues that they understood English–which may explain why almost all the advertising is in Korean.

As if that wouldn't be the case. Browse the message boards on the various TBS eFM programs and you'll see that practically all the visitors are Korean, so there's more evidence. Or, maybe it just means that more Koreans take the time to comment on radio station message boards.

All evidence out of Gwangju indicates that the "English"-language Gwangju "Foreigners" Network isn't really intended for foreigners or English-speakers either, and even the on-air personalities who read this site are likely aware of that.



These stations are what they are---because of pride, ignorance, Korean sponsors, Korean leadership---and that's that. You can appreciate them for what they are, or in spite of what they are, or move on to other sources of entertainment. My girlfriend listens to GFN, though, so I'll leave it there for now.