- Korean Central Television
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Korean Central Television (KCTV)
Democratic People's Republic of Korea-Korean Central Radio Television Broadcasting System (DPRK-KCRTVBS)Type Broadcast television Country 
Democratic People's Republic of KoreaFirst air date 1980 based in Pyongyang Availability Nationalwide Founded 1980 based in Pyongyang Licence area Pyongyang, North KoreaHeadquarters North KoreaBroadcast area Democratic People's Republic of KoreaArea Pyongyang, North KoreaOwner Korean Central Radio Television Broadcasting System Parent Korean Central Radio Television Broadcasting System Key people Kim Il-sung Launch date 1980 based in Pyongyang Korean Central Television Chosŏn'gŭl 조선중앙방송 Hancha 朝鮮中央放送 McCune–Reischauer Chosŏn Chung'ang Pangsong Revised Romanization Joseon Jung-ang Bangsong Korean Central Television (KCTV) is a state news broadcaster in North Korea, located in the capital city, Pyongyang. KCTV is the only official source of television news for North Koreans. The reach of the programming is limited, as there are only around 1.2 million television sets in the country of over 23 million inhabitants. Additionally, the North Koreans who do own televisions are almost exclusively found in cities.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea-Korean Central Radio Television Broadcasting System (DPRK-KRCTVBS) of the DPRK was established in 1980, strengthening the publishing and broadcasting industries of the DPRK. Four channels compose the DPRK-KCRTVBS:
- KCTV1 - Korean Central Television (KCTV) - Public broadcasting stations
- KCTV2 - Korean Education and Culture Arts Television (KECATV) - Education, Culture, Arts and Knowledge stations
- KCTV3 - Korean Sports Television (KSTV) - Sports stations
- KCTV4 - Korean English International Television (KEITV) - English stations
KCTV broadcasts reflect the official points of view of the North Korean government, and are made available internationally through satellite connections.
Contents
Coverage
KCTV broadcasts six hours each day from 17:00 to 23:00 and at weekends and key national holidays from 09:00 to 23:15. There is an exception, for the emergency events in DPRK at night or daytime, it starts up without any announcers or the Voice of Korea interval signal. The station is still open until that event becomes normal.
In the 1980s, KCTV began broadcasting from 19:00 to 21:00 and broadcast only on daily until 1992. While in the 1970s, KCTV broadcast only 1 hour a week.
KECATV broadcasts two hours from 19:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and weekends, including national holidays.
KSTV broadcasts two hours from 19:00 to 21:00 on weekend and one hours from 20:00 to 21:00 on weekend, including national holidays broadcasting national and international sports.
KEITV broadcasts one hours from 20:00 to 21:00 on daily including national holidays these international news major News broadcasting or News program coverage 30-minutes mixtures a 2 programmes including has : BBC World News (BBC World News) and CNN International News at CNN International News Asia Pacific (CNN World News).
The stations' output is dominated by propaganda programming focusing on the history and achievements of the ruling Korean Workers' Party, the Korean People's Army (KPA) and Kim Jong-il. Topics covered range from new construction projects to history lessons about the accomplishments and past of Kim Jong-il, Kim Il-sung and the juche idea. As with most propaganda, the accuracy of these historic accounts is not always credible, with facts sometimes being distorted in favor of the government. Other programs on topics such as health, education and even children's programs are also aired. Movies and even patriotic musical shows and theater are also shown on the network.
On national holidays, military parades, musical performances and movies, plus more special programs are shown on all four networks.
The following illustrates part of a typical day's broadcasting on KCTV on Thursday, 1 December 2005:
- 16:30 - Test card with time
- 16:59 - Clock ident (17:59:40-17:59:59)
- 17:00 - National anthem, Opening of broadcasts and sign-on continuity, Song of General Kim Il-sung (instrumental and minus one anthem)-Kim Il-sung (all vocal and choir anthem), Programmes guide and TV listings for the day
- 17:09 - Clock ident (17:09:50-17:09:59)
- 17:10 - KCTV National Capital News (Afternoon)
- 17:20 - KCTV International weather forecast
- 17:30 - KCTV Newspaper Daily Press Revies (Newspaper stories)
- 17:37 - North Korea comedy
- 17:47 - Korean documentary
- 18:42 - Korean music arts vocal pop songs
- 18:59 - Clock ident (18:59:50-18:59:59)
- 19:00 - KCTV International News
- 19:10 - KCTV International weather forecast
- 19:20 - North Korean films/Movie theater from the Korean War
- 20:59 - Clock ident (20:59:50-20:59:59)
- 21:00 - KCTV Evening News
- 21:20 - KCTV Weather forecast
- 21:30 - North Korean films/Movie theater from Korean War
- 22:29 - Clock ident (22:29:50-22:29:59)
- 22:30 - KCTV Late News Update
- 22:40 - KCTV Weather forecast
- 22:45 - Music video
- 22:50 - Schedule for the next day's programming, sign-off announcement, Clock ident (22:54:30-22:54:53), Station main theme
- 22:56 - Fade out black, EBU Test card
Time zone: UTC+09:00 at Korea Standard Time (KST)
Interesting facts
- News program - Newsreaders wear the same outfit everyday, though they may vary in color. Black and blue for male newsreaders and green and pink for female and have the same haircut for everyone in the same gender. Newscasters must strongly project their voices when on air. Newscasts start typically with a blank red or blue slide, followed by a slow fade to the anchor. The set has the background of Pyongyang with the Taedong river.
- Program schedule - Programs have no set time at which to air (The programming is not pegged to air at every half hour, hour, etc.). This is probably due to the cut out of commercials for imported programs.
- Test card - They air testcards, simulcasting the voice of Korea at some intervals.
- Imported syndicated programming - KCTV dubs all dialogue and will plaster it on top of the original soundtrack.
- Movies - They are usually rated PG or R or their equivalents and are not intended for younger viewers.
Viewing outside DPRK
KCTV is broadcast free-to-air on Thaicom 5, so with the appropriate equipment can be picked up in Asia, Australia, Middle East, Africa and Europe.
The daily KCTV news bulletin is also distributed online through this Chongryon.
Appearances
Identity
There are 5 idents broadcast daily since 1980, each having the same voice-over.
- Startup ident: The violet background with KCTV's logo flying in, followed by some Korean characters, with the voice-over "Joseon Jungang Bangsong". Broadcast after the music and before the program schedule in the sign-on sequences.
- News ident: The blue background with KCTV's logo and Juche Tower flying in slowly, without voice-over.
- Night Time news ident: Same as news ident, but with different characters, broadcast only at 22:30.
- Closedown ident: Same as startup ident, but different voice over, and in the blue background. Followed by the program schedule.
Logo History
- There is only one KCTV logo, which has statue form Chollima in it. This was launched in 1980 title as Democratic People's Republic of Korea-Korean Central Radio Television Broadcasting System (DPRK-KRCTVBS).
- There is only one KCTV logo, which has fire from Juche Tower in it. This was launched in 1996 title as Korean Central Television (KCTV).
News
As there is only one news ident.
The blue background with KCTV's logo and Juche Tower flying in slowly, without voice-over.
Clocks
There is only one clock, broadcast on New Year's Eve at 23:59. The clock changes every year.
Test Card
There are test card changes from time-to-time.
- 1980–present - EBU Colour Bars and Philips PM5544 testcard with time
Closing and Opening times
- 1980-1987
- Every day, 18:00-20:00
- 1987-1992
- Every day, 18:00-21:00
- 1992–present
- Every day, 17:00-23:00
- Weekends and on national holidays: 09:00-23:15
Startup
Korean Central Television generally signs on at 17:00 with the country's national anthem along with shots of Mount Paekdu and Lake Chon, followed by a shot of the national flag on which an image of the Chollima statue appears, along with the caption 조선중앙방송 (Korean Central Television). An announcer then appears, welcoming viewers to the day's transmission. This is followed by the Song of General Kim Il-sung accompanied by shots of Mount Paektu and Lake Chon, and then a red flag flutters on the screen, on which appears a portrait of late president Kim Il Sung. This is followed by a rendition of the Song of General Kim Il-sung by military band and all choir which also appear on the screen formal lyric subtitles singers Korean language music songers. The overall start-up sequence lasts just over six minutes.
Closedown
Korean Central Television signs off at around 10:50 pm each evening with an extended preview of the next day's schedule followed by an in-vision closing announcement and station main theme a shot of the national flag.
Technical data
North Korean broadcasters use PAL format for their broadcasting and introduced relay reception by a communication satellite in 1980.
KCTV is not to be mistaken for North Korea's news agency, Korean Central News Agency.
Sources
See also
- Telecommunications in North Korea
- Politics of North Korea
- North Korean news organizations
External links
Categories:- Television channels in North Korea
- News television series
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