The unfortunate aspect about our Korean broadcasting is that, in the past, the Neighbor Islands were left out of the fray.

Our signal at KBFD wasn't strong enough to reach our fellow Islanders, so much of what I have written about K-dramas is something that, even if they were interested, they couldn't see for themselves unless friends or relatives on O'ahu taped shows for them.

That is all changing.

After many years and hard work, KBFD will provide service starting Friday to all the major Neighbor Islands via Oceanic Cable's digital service.

We will broadcast the same programming schedule to the Neighbor Islands as we have on O'ahu, though it will be via digital cable on Oceanic's Channel 82.

In other words, fans on the Neighbor Islands can watch Korean programming 24 hours a day.

"Ghosting," where two signals interfere with each other and cause overlapping video, has been a slight problem on Channel 4, but that won't be a problem with the digital service.

In the digital realm, there is no such thing as ghosting. So for those who have encountered problems on Oceanic Channel 4, I suggest subscribing to the digital service so you can watch KBFD on either Channel 4 or 82.

Reaching the Neighbor Islands has been a major challenge for our station and something we've worked toward for years.

An average video broadcast deck costs as much as some automobiles, and you need more than 50 decks to minimally run a station. Mix in peripheral equipment such as camera and monitors, and it gets expensive for independent TV stations such as KBFD.

But we're trying because we see the benefits for the viewers as well as for the station. With digital TV, KBFD has the flexibility to do multichannel broadcasting, high-speed Internet service backbone, data casting and interactive TV.

Ours is the only locally owned and operated full-powered television station in the state, so some of the things I'm writing about today aren't common problems most stations have to deal with.

The bottom line is KBFD has been a local station for 20 years, through some lean times and now the good times.

We're going to continue to add programming that adds value and enriches the lives of our viewers and our community.

We're just proud that we can now say we do it statewide.

FASHION SHOW SETS STAGE FOR NEW DRAMA OUT THIS WEEK

'MR. HOUSEWIFE' - TONIGHT (EPISODES 5 AND 6)

6:50 p.m.: Mina doesn't tell Soo-han she was fired, and goes out looking for a job. Mina finds out Eun-mi had intercepted her business plans, and takes another copy to Sun-woo and gets a job in the marketing department.

8 p.m.: Song-yi gets sick at kindergarten and Soo-han rushes over. Feeling guilty about Song-yi's health and condition, Soo-han decides to take a cooking class.

'FASHION 70S' (EPISODES 1 AND 2)

In this new drama, the time is during the Korean War, in the '50s. Joon-hee and Kang-hee are little girls with different backgrounds.

While Joon-hee lives with loving parents, Kang-hee lives with a mother who steals to make ends meet.

On one fateful night when Joon-hee sneaks in backstage to watch a fashion show, the town is attacked, and she is separated from her parents. Her parents try desperately to find her, but in the process, Joon-hee loses her mother.

Kang-hee flees the town. However, the girls eventually meet again. As the show continues, both grow up dreaming of becoming famous designers.

7:50 p.m. tomorrow, repeats 3 p.m. Tuesday: Joon-hee gets caught while helping Kang-hee's mom steal from the American military base. As punishment, Joon-hee is not allowed to go to the fashion show that comes to town. She sneaks in backstage to watch the fashion show and meets a boy named Bin. When the town is attacked by enemies, everyone is able to flee. But Joon-hee is separated from her parents and is unwittingly locked up in a box. Joon-hee's parents try desperately to find her.

7:50 p.m. Tuesday, repeats 3 p.m. Wednesday: Joon-hee's mother is killed in an explosion while frantically looking to find Joon-hee. Her father is injured but tries hard to find Joon-hee. She is found in the box by Bin. Joon-hee is left all alone to take care of herself when the fashion designer Mrs. Chang and her people leave. Bin makes a sign before he leaves to help Joon-hee find her parents.

'SUPER ROOKIE' - 7:50 P.M. WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY (EPISODES 17 AND 18)

7:50 p.m. Wednesday: Bong-sam begs Kang Ho not to expose the truth, but Kang Ho refuses. Kang Ho tells Bong-sam to come clean about what he did. Mi-ok overhears the two men talking and finds out what happened.

7:50 p.m. Thursday: Kang Ho, Joon-ha, Sung-tae and Min sneak into the office with Mi-ok's help to clear Kang Ho's name. Mr. Song offers to help put Mi-ok in the project team but she refuses.

'EMPEROR OF THE SEA' - 7:50 P.M. FRIDAY AND SATURDAY (EPISODES 39 AND 40)

7:50 p.m. Friday: Kim Yang selects Yum Moon, Dae-chi and Baek-kyung as members of his secret force. Kim Yang grants Yum Moon's wish to kill Jang Bogo and sends him to Chunghae.

7:50 p.m. Saturday: Jang Bogo is worried about Yum Moon's disappearance and sends Moo-chang and Yon to find him. Master Jo urges Jang Bogo to marry Chae-ryung, and Jang Bogo finally decides to wed Chae-ryung.

Jeff Chung is the general manager of KBFD, which televises all of the K-dramas. If you have a K-drama question or comment, call KBFD at 521-8066.