Tainan Broadcasting Bureau (Tainan Hōsōkyoku)

The Tainan Broadcasting Bureau (臺南放送局, Tainan Hōsōkyoku) was established by the Taiwan Broadcasting Association (臺灣放送協會) and commenced operations on April 1, 1932, with the call sign JFBK. The station was one of six regional broadcasting bureaus across colonial Taiwan, serving as the primary radio facility for the southern part of the island. Its broadcasting studio and performance hall were built within the grounds of the Great South Gate Garden (大南門遊園地, now South Gate Park) in central Tainan, while a relay receiving station was located at the Tainan Higher Industrial School (臺南高等工業學校) in the Houjia district.

The reinforced concrete building represents a transitional work between traditional colonial architecture and emerging modernism. Unlike typical symmetrical public buildings of the era, the structure has an asymmetric layout resembling a Western-style residence with modern elements. The north-facing main entrance features a portico with both round and rectangular pilasters, while the facade is clad in tiles of varying colors. Notable architectural details include circular windows above rectangular ones on the second floor and distinctive octagonal windows on the east wing — features that give the building its unique character.

During the wartime years, the Tainan Broadcasting Bureau played an increasingly important role in the colonial government's propaganda apparatus. As part of the island-wide broadcasting network coordinated from Taipei (JFAK), the station transmitted government announcements, wartime news, mobilization orders, and air-raid warnings to the population of southern Taiwan. The station also broadcast educational and cultural programming designed to promote imperial assimilation policies (皇民化運動). On August 15, 1945, the Tainan station relayed the Emperor's Gyokuon-hōsō (玉音放送) — Hirohito's recorded radio address announcing Japan's acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration — to listeners across southern Taiwan, marking the end of fifty years of Japanese colonial rule.

After Japan's surrender, the Republic of China government took control of broadcasting infrastructure across Taiwan. The Tainan station was incorporated into the China Broadcasting Corporation (中國廣播公司, abbreviated 中廣) and operated as the CBC Tainan Station until 1997. Following the broadcaster's departure, the building briefly housed the Tainan Cultural Foundation from 2000 to 2005. In July 2001, the Tainan City Government designated the structure as a municipal historic monument (市定古蹟). A comprehensive restoration project was undertaken from January 2010 to late 2011. In July 2012, through a partnership between the Tainan City Government and the College of Sound and Image Arts of Tainan National University of the Arts, the building reopened as the Tainan South Gate Film Center (臺南市南門電影書院), dedicated to film education, screening programs, and audiovisual archival work.