KBS2 was created as an effect of the
Policy for Merger and Abolition of the Press. The
Tongyang Broadcasting Company, set up by
Samsung founder
Lee Byung-chul, had its license revoked and its operations were absorbed into the
Korean Broadcasting System. At the time of the decision, TBC was Korea's second largest radio and television company. On 30 November 1980, TBC made its final broadcast and the following day, KBS2 signed on in Seoul and Busan, where TBC had its television stations. Some of TBC's programs were continued under KBS, including the KBS Music Festival, which started in 1965 on TBC. The initial goal was to complement the two KBS networks, with KBS2 being initially dedicated for cultural and educational programming. The channel started color broadcasts on 22 December 1980, alongside
MBC. Initially commercial-free, the two KBS networks reintroduced commercial advertising on 7 March 1981. On 3 November 1986, it added a primetime news bulletin at 8:05pm, as well as the addition of language learning programs. At the start of cable television networks in South Korea in the early 90s, KBS2 was included in the
must-carry package, which initially excluded the commercial channels MBC and SBS. The channel adopted green as its signature color in 1993. Ratings soared for the final episode of
First Love on 20 April 1997, at a record 65.8%. Digital terrestrial broadcasts started in 2001, on LCN 7 at a national scale; analog broadcasts ended in 2012. Its signal was interrupted for a 20-minute period on the evening of 14 October 2006. KBS2 was granted a subchannel (7-2) in 2015. == Programming ==