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| Woongjin Foundation Chairman Shin Hyon-ung, back row center, poses with other guests at a ceremony to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Multicultural Music Broadcasting station at the Korea Press Center, Seoul, Wednesday. Philippine Ambassador Maria Theresa Dizon-De Vega, back row sixth from left, and Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tung, back row sixth from right, also took part in the event. Courtesy of Woongjin Foundation |
By Jeon Yae-wool
The Woongjin Foundation hosted a ceremony to celebrate the 15th anniversary of its Multicultural Music Broadcasting at the Korea Press Center, Wednesday.
The foundation, headed by Shin Hyon-ung, former vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, was established by Woongjin Group ― chaired by Yoon Suk-keum ― with a focus on social service programs.
The broadcaster provides radio programs in eight languages: Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Thai, Japanese, Mongolian, Arabic and Russian.
The radio shows, staffed by native speakers of these languages, aim to bridge the cultural gap for foreign residents in Korea, such as marriage immigrants, migrant workers and students, whose numbers amount to approximately 2.25 million. The programs seek to help them integrate into Korean society.
Among the participants at the ceremony were Woongjin Foundation Chairman Shin, Digital Skynet President Kim Choong-hyeon, Korean National Red Cross former Chairman Park Kyung-seo and Ambassador Kim Chang-mo from the Korean-Arab Society. Philippine Ambassador Maria Theresa Dizon-De Vega and Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tung also took part in the event.
The broadcaster, launched on Aug. 15, 2008, is now aired on 28 channels, including Skylife satellite, cable TV, IPTV, smartphones, smart TVs and the internet. The programs offer news about their homelands, tips for living in Korea and Korean language lessons while playing both foreign and Korean music.
In addition to the music programs, the broadcaster has produced 160 animated stories, incorporating fairy tales from seven countries with Korean language dubbing, which are available at Woongjin Foundation's website www.wjf.kr, smartphone apps and YouTube channel.
This service, launched in December 2010, has garnered 460,000 hits and helped children of multicultural families connect with their heritage.
The broadcaster has received international acclaim, winning the World Media Awards from the Philippine government three times in 2011, 2015 and 2017, eventually earning a place in the World Media Awards Hall of Fame.
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