CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Places & Architecture

KBFD-DT

Korean-language TV station in Honolulu

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 27, 2026
Entity authorityQ15229972
Source-derived summary

KBFD-DT (channel 32) is an Asian independent television station in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. The station is owned by Allen Broadcasting (not to be confused with Allen Media Group, owner of ABC affiliate KITV [channel 4] and multicultural independent KIKU [channel 20]). KBFD-DT's studios are located on Bishop Street in downtown Honolulu, and its transmitter is located near Hawaii Pacific University.

Unlike major network affiliates in the Hawaii market, KBFD-DT does not operate any satellite stations or translators, nor is it available on DirecTV or Dish Network. It can only be received via cable outside the Honolulu-area reach of its main signal.

Overview

The station first signed on the air on March 24, 1986. KBFD-DT is one of two television stations in Hawaii that specializes in Asian programming full-time (alongside KIKU). Although the station airs a variety programs from many Asian countries, most of the programs seen on KBFD are geared to a Korean audience as most of its lineup features programs acquired from the Korean Broadcasting System, the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, and SBS. Most of the programs on KBFD are also subtitled in English, due to a growing audience of non-Asian viewers interested in its music shows and drama series.

KBFD handles exclusive home video distribution of Korean shows and specials under the KBFDVD brand banner, which the station advertises on air and on their website. KBFD also carries programming from KBS World, the international program service from KBS (broadcasting as KBFD2) on digital subchannel 32.2, Arirang programming on digital subchannel 32.3, and operates the cable channel KLife, a Korean lifestyle programming service.

Editorial summary

“KBFD-DT” enters the record as korean-language TV station in Honolulu. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what KBFD-DT, Korean-language and station can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1986—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1986. Its strongest next move is a source search built around KBFD-DT, Korean-language and station.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“KBFD-DT” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, KBFD-DT, Korean-language and station provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q15229972. Authority coordinates are 21.311, -157.859. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1986.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “KBFD-DT”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow KBFD-DT primary sources, KBFD-DT archive and KBFD-DT research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “KBFD-DT”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from KBFD-DT” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.