KBS WORLD 24 REBORN AS “KBS KOREA”

[Anchor Lead]

KBS World 24, a network channel targeting overseas Koreans, has been renamed "KBS Korea" and is broadcast in real time. Using maritime satellites, the channel can be broadcast even on ships navigating at sea.

[Pkg]

This ship is carrying petroleum from Shanghai to the Middle East. After a hard day of work, the crew watch es a music show on KBS Korea.

[Soundbite] Hwang Seon-ho(Captain of Saehan Wallaby) : "Watching various shows live helps us keep our spirits up during long-haul voyages."

It's a maritime satellite broadcast service provided jointly by KBS and KT SAT. It can broadcast TV programs in real time even on ships at sea using the high-powered maritime telecommunication beam of the Mugunghwa 5A satellite. So far, KBS World has been transmitted to the U.S., Europe and Africa via international satellite communication or the Internet. It can now be watched on marine routes in Asia, India, the Middle East and nearby countries via the Mugunghwa satellite. KBS Korea, the new name of KBS World 24, broadcasts news and other programs of KBS TV1 in real time and can be watched anywhere in the world. The percentage of show premieres will soon be raised from less than 20 percent to 57 percent, to deliver the latest news from Korea.

[Soundbite] Kwon Oh-hoon(KBS) : "Popular Korean shows can now be broadcast in real time all over the world. KBS Korea will become the TV channel of choice among Koreans in various parts of the world."

Starting next year, KBS plans to transmit KBS World, a channel targeting foreign viewers, via a maritime satellite as well.