Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) is an international Christian radio network.[1] From 1960 to 1994, FEBC owned and operated shortwave radio station KGEI in San Francisco, California.

History
FEBC was established on December 20, 1945, months after the end of World War II, using an initial budget of US§1,000 to establish a nonprofit Christian shortwave radio organization. In April 1946, negotiations to start a radio station in Shanghai (before the Communist regime took over three years later) started, but the Nationalists opposed the plan, under the grounds that FEBC was a foreign operation. Once the negotiations in Shanghai failed, at the end of 1946, Robert Bowman, founder of FEBC, moved to Manila at the end of the year for the same purpose: setting up the first FEBC station. The licenses were granted for medium and shortwave stations on September 4, 1946, with construction work starting in October and payments ending on November 30. The first test broadcasts were held in Manila on February 23, 1948, becoming regular a few months later, on June 4 at 6pm. The station used the KZAS callsign.[2]
The company purchased KGEI in 1960, a station founded by GE in 1939. The station went off air in 1994 and had its equipment donated to another Christian missionary group for use in Liberia.[3]
Philippines
The Philippines is where FEBC began its initial broadcasting.[4][5][6] FEBC transferred to Karuhatan Road, Karuhatan in 1948-2011 from Shanghai and finally to 46/F One Corporate Centre.[7]
The 2022 FEBC Pioneers' Wall (Bantayog ng Kasaysayan) was unveiled at the former Christian Radio City Manila (CRCM) or FEBC compound in Valenzuela. The First Filipino leaders included Rev. Proceso Marcelo, Rev. Ferico Magbanua and Rev. Maximo Atienza.[8]
AM/FM stations
Branding | Callsign | Frequency | Power | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|
702 DZAS | DZAS | 702 kHz | 50 kW | Metro Manila |
98.7 DZFE | DZFE | 98.7 MHz | 20 kW | |
1143 DZMR Missions Radio | DZMR | 1143 kHz | 10 kW | Santiago |
DZRK 106.3 Radyo Kapitbisig | DZRK | 106.3 MHz | 5 kW | Quezon, Palawan |
Care 104.3 The Way FM | DWAY | 104.3 MHz | Legazpi | |
1233 DYVS | DYVS | 1233 kHz | 10 kW | Bacolod |
UP 987 | DYFR | 98.7 MHz | Cebu City | |
97.5 DYFE | DYFE | 97.5 MHz | 5 kW | Tacloban |
1116 DXAS | DXAS | 1116 kHz | Zamboanga City | |
103.3 The New J | DXJL | 103.3 MHz | 2.5 kW | Cagayan de Oro |
1197 DXFE | DXFE | 1197 kHz | 10 kW | Davao City |
1062 DXKI | DXKI | 1062 kHz | 5 kW | Koronadal |
DXGR 106.9 Radyo Gandingan | DXGR | 106.9 MHz | Cotabato City |
Shortwave
FEBC operates its shortwave broadcasts on SW 15580 in different languages, transmitting from its facilities in Bocaue, Bulacan and Iba, Zambales.
Digital media
FEBC Philippines also owns Saved Radio, a Contemporary Christian-formatted music station currently available on internet radio. FEBC took over the ownership of Saved Radio from its original owner Becca Music in 2022, effectively shutting down its previous station Now XD.
South Korea
FEBC owns a number of stations in South Korea, the main station being HLKX in Soul. Its station in Yeongdong (HLDY) was damaged by wildfires in April 2019. The station alone is used to disseminate religious programming to North Korea, where religious broadcasting is strictly forbidden. Only sheet music for hymns survived the blazes.[9][10][11]
Being a puritan Christian radio network gives the connotation that FEBC in South Korea has right-wing conservative tendencies. For example, in the Special Current Affairs Symposium broadcast on September 10, 2001, professor Kim Dong-gil and others took part and aired content critical of Kim Dae-jung's government of the time.[12] Also, former president Chun Doo-hwan, who led a dictatorship in the 1980s, celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its founding in Korea, at a speech given on May 20, 2006. This also coincided with the anniversary of events on May 18, 1980; even after the event was held, posts appeared on FEBC Korea who demanded the removal of sponsorship contracts with the network.[13]
Branding | Frequency | Power | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Seoul FEBC
(HLKX) |
1188 kHz | D100 kW | Seoul |
106.9 MHz | 5 kW | ||
Youngdong FEBC
(HLDY) |
90.1 MHz | 3 kW | Gangwon |
102.9 MHz | 70W | ||
100.9 MHz | 90W | ||
Daejeon FEBC
(HLAD) |
93.3 MHz | Daejeon
5 kW |
Daejeon |
Gongju
500W | |||
Jeonbuk FEBC
(HLEN) |
91.1 MHz | 1 kW | Jeonbuk |
Gwangju FEBC
(HLED) |
93.1 MHz | Gwangju | |
Mokpo FEBC
(HLKW) |
100.5 MHz | Mokpo | |
Jeonmandongbu FEBC
(HLEI) |
97.5 MHz | Jeonnam | |
92.9 MHz | 100W | ||
Taegu FEBC
(HLKK) |
91.9 MHz | 1 kW | Daegu |
105.9 MHz | 200W | ||
Pohang FEBC
(HLDZ) |
90.3 MHz | 3 kW | Pohang |
Busan FEBC
(HLQQ) |
93.3 MHz | 1 kW | Busan |
96.7 MHz | 20W | ||
Ulsan FEBC
(HLQR) |
107.3 MHz | 3 kW | Ulsan |
Changwon FEBC
(HLDD) |
98.1 MHz | 5 kW | Changwon |
92.5 MHz | 500W | ||
Jeju FEBC
(HLAZ) |
1566 kHz | D250 kW | Jeju |
104.7 MHz | 3 kW | ||
101.1 MHz | 90W |
Indonesia
YASKI is the name for FEBC in Indonesia. It runs a number of stations under the Heartline FM brand.[14][15][16]
Logo | Branding | Callsign | Frequency | Power | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Heartline FM Tangerang | PM3FSD | 100.6 MHz | 5 kW | Karawaci |
![]() |
Heartline FM Samarinda | 94.4 MHz | 5 kW | Samarinda | |
![]() |
Heartline FM Lampung | PM8FFY | 91.7 MHz | 5 kW | Lampung |
![]() |
Heartline FM Bali | 92.2 MHz | 5 kW | Bali |
Russia
FEBC Russia runs a number of stations under the Radio Teos brand.[17][18][19]
Branding | Frequency | Power | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Radio Teos St. Petersburg | 1089 kHz | 50 kW | Saint Petersburg |
Radio Teos Moscow | 1134 kHz | 20 kW | Moscow |
United Kingdom
FEBA Radio was established in 1959 in the United Kingdom.[20]
Northern Mariana Islands
The FEBC international broadcast station on Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands was established about 1981 and closed in 2011.[21] The local radio station, KSAI 936 AM, was on air for 24 years until shutting down on April 30, 2002.[22] KSAI was initially established in Saipan by the United States Office of War Information (OWI) in June 1945.[23][24]
Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
There was an FEBC station in Okinawa starting in 1958. After the reversion agreement, the station became a commercial operation (Kyokuto Hoso Radio) as religious broadcasters were forbidden under the Law on Special Measures for the Reversion of Okinawa. Per a decision taken by the Diet of Japan in 1983, the station shut down in 1984.[25]
External links
Media related to Far East Broadcasting Company at Wikimedia Commons
References
- ^ "The Triumph of the Far East Broadcasting Co". Christianity.com.
- ^ "Sky Waves" (PDF). 1963. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
- ^ Bowman, Jim. "International Broadcast Station KGEI: 1939-1994". The Radio Historian. John F. Schneider & Associates, LLC. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ Juris, The Corpus (March 6, 1951). "R.A. No. 596: An Act Granting the Far East Broadcasting Co. (Philippines), Inc. a Temporary Permit to Construct, Maintain and Operate Non-Commercial Radio Broadcasting Stations in the Philippines". The Corpus Juris.
- ^ "House Bill No. 5182" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
- ^ "FEBC Celebrates 70 Years of Gospel Broadcasting in the Philippines".
- ^ "HOME".
- ^ "The Pioneer's Wall | FEBC International Archive".
- ^ "Massive 'Super Station' Radio Signal Carrying 'Message of Jesus Christ' to Blanket North Korea". CBN. May 9, 2019.
- ^ "Wildfire Cripples FEBC Radio Station in South Korea - Standard Newswire". www.standardnewswire.com (Press release).
- ^ "Wildfire Destroys FEBC Station in Korea". April 23, 2019.
- ^ 극동방송, 시국좌담 '쇼' -"햇볕 정책 한마디로 쇼"
- ^ 전두환씨 축사 강행에 후원중단 등 비판 거세
- ^ "Heartline FM". Health Communication Resources.
- ^ "FEBC Radio Available on 80 Stations in Indonesia - FEBC". October 26, 2019. Archived from the original on October 26, 2019.
- ^ Hen, Deny. "Cherish Indonesia Hadir Setiap Rabu di Heartline FM | Cherish Indonesia".
- ^ "Radio Teos: Russian radio with a vision". www.crossrhythms.co.uk.
- ^ Sandeman, John (May 2, 2018). "From Russia with love - Eternity News".
- ^ "Radio TEOS | Mission of Tears". www.missionoftears.ca.
- ^ "Give a radio this Christmas". www.christiantoday.com. December 7, 2010.
- ^ "Bob and Jan Springer".
- ^ "KSAI Radio bids Saipan goodbye". Saipan Tribune. April 18, 2002.
- ^ The Information War in the Pacific, 1945
- ^ "Shortwave Central: The Voice of America: Shipboard Relay Stations - Radio Ship Phoenix". November 25, 2011.
- ^ "Broadcast" "Monthly Advertising" Vol. 28, No. 11, Dentsu, October 25, 1983, p.72, NDLJP: 2262018/38.