King's Business - 1955-09

O n the Communist China main­ land these days there’s a chain of high-powered radio stations that are on a round-the-clock sched­ ule. Their message, beamed to the non-Communist Orient, is a highly- polished bid for the minds and hearts of all who listen. There’s been a particular concentration on South Korea and to date the only Christian answer from that land has been from a single, low-pow­ ered Protestant station that is on the air only 4*/2 hours a day. One mission organization sized up the situation back in 1953 and decided to do something to help meet the need. The organization: The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM) of Chicago. To do the job TEAM picked Tom Watson, Jr., a man with a rather solid background in radio. Watson, who comes from a politi­ cally prominent Florida family, graduated with a major in journal­ ism from the University of Florida. Like a good many other young writers Tom Watson headed for New York. And he wound up with the somewhat unmanly task of writing “Big Sister,” a network soap opera. After wartime duty as an Air Force pilot he returned to Florida where he worked as a reporter on a Tampa newspaper. Later he be­ came manager and part owner of a radio station in Belle Glade. Up to now Christianity hadn’t exactly

attended a local P r e s b y t e r i a n church. Watson fervently hoped to hear a sermon a little more com­ fortable than the Sunday fare he’d been subjected to for the past months. The sermon turned out to be a masterful presentation of the claims of Christ and that day Tom Watson committed his life to the Saviour. Though over age for mission re­ cruits and without formal Bible training, Watson plagued TEAM until they consented to take him on. And at 33 Watson started a new life. He sold his home and radio station and with his family headed for Japan. Within five months he was speaking the Japanese lan­ guage good enough to preach a ser­ mon and in another few months had Christian programs on 15 com­ mercial stations. Then came the idea for the station in Korea and TEAM picked Watson as their man to head the work. Watson figured there probably weren’t many short wave sets in the Communist Orient since it was illegal to listen to them. So he ap­ plied for and got a permit for a 20,000 watt AM station to be lo­ cated at Inchon. Radio engineers calculate this will blanket a tre­ mendous area (see map). Property has been purchased and all avail­ able funds are being earmarked for this high-priority job. TEAM of­ ficials are hopeful that Radio Ko­ rea (HMBN) will be on the air in another few months. END.

been a moving force in Tom Wat­ son’s life. He recalls he and his wife, Katheryn, were members of a Presbyterian church and Tom was an elder and Sunday school teacher but often on Sunday morn­ ing he taught the class, stiffly fight­ ing a groggy hangover. For Watson the church was a thing you were bom into and that was that. About this time a somewhat dis­ t u r b i n g situation developed for Watson. The church took on a new pastor (despite a warning from the Presbytery that the man was some­ what of a fanatic). Watson fully concurred with the warning after the man’s first sermon was on, “Ye must be bom again.” Four months later the Watsons were visiting in Ft. Lauderdale and on Sunday they What You Can Do The K in g ’ s B u s in e s s is in full agreement with the aims of TEAM to establish a powerful radio station in Korea. Readers who would like to have a part in putting this im­ portant station on the air are invited to send their donations to: TEAM, 2839 W. McLean Ave., Chicago 47, 111 . The new station is also in need of four men with first class radio telephone licenses and transmitter experience. Others are needed with radio experience in production and programming.

jreon President Rhee (left photo) tells Watson he is for Christian radio station because it will combat Communist propaganda. 17 E P T E M B E R , 1 9 5 5

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