Why South Koreans should have access to Pyongyang's media
North Koreans read a copy of the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's official newspaper, at Mirae Scientists Street in Pyongyang, in this Jan. 11, 2021, file photo. South Korea is stepping up its efforts to lift its ban on North Korean media amid concerns over the potential influence of its propaganda. AFP-Yonhap |
Worries about nonsensical ― even risible ― regime messages overblown, experts say
By Jung Min-ho
After the 1950-53 Korean War, ideological conflicts within and outside South Korea intensified. Many South Korean citizens were raising questions about the promises of capitalism; some gravitated to the communist utopian vision promoted by the North. Back when South Korea was poorer than the North economically, the regime's propaganda was a major threat to its very survival, prompting its leaders to enact the National Security Act to counter those messages.
Seven decades have passed since. South Korea today is incomparably more prosperous and influential than its totalitarian rival. Yet the act is still firmly in place, imposing a de facto ban on free public access to North Korean media. Those interested in reading North Korean newspapers such as the Rodong Sinmun need to visit government-designated places where they can access North Korea's mostly outdated "news" after showing their ID.
Experts say the ban is obsolete and only benefits the regime, which shuns ― and fears ― any type of transparency. They call for change, saying that worries about the potential influence of North Korea's propaganda here are overblown.
"After Germany was divided during the Cold War between the capitalist bloc led by the U.S. and the communist one by the Soviet Union, West Germany kept its door open to the media of East Germany. But West Germans showed little interest in reading Neues Deutschland, then the East side's official party newspaper, which is comparable to the Rodong Sinmun," Kim Young-soo, secretary-general at the Seoul office of the Hanns Seidel Foundation, a German political body that has promoted Korea's peaceful unification, told The Korea Times.
"If the South lifts its ban on North Korean media, the same thing will happen. After a while, few people will show interest."
In recent months, the South's Ministry of Unification has been stepping up its efforts to expand public access to North Korean media, including broadcasting channels, with the goal of ultimately removing the ban completely. Doing so was one of President Yoon Suk Yeol's pledges during his election campaign. But some have raised concerns that North Korea might exploit the opportunity to spread its lies. Their objections have slowed the progress of the project, officials said.
North Korean journalists film the motorcade of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ahead of a Washington-Pyongyang summit in Singapore, in this June 12, 2018, file photo. AP-Yonhap |
Kim believes North Korean propaganda will have little impact on informed citizens in South Korea, just like East Germany's media did on West Germans.
It is North Korean propagandists, not South Korean citizens, who should be afraid of increased openness, he added, explaining that maybe if there were viewers and readers in South Korea, it may lead the North Korean media to self-censor its most outrageous claims for fear of drawing ridicule.
The media ban is not free. Scholars and other experts on North Korea ― and taxpayers who sponsor their work ― bear its cost. Many pay "excessive fees" to overseas-based providers to access North Korean media content, which is available for free or at much lower prices outside South Korea.
Yee Ji-sun, a researcher who studies North Korea's culture and society at the Korea Institute for National Unification, a think tank, pays subscription fees for one such service.
"During the COVID pandemic, the official supply channels for magazines such as Chollima have been blocked, which disrupted my work," she said. "Some internet firms offer paid-for services for what I need. But the one that I use offers only text content without the pictures published in the original magazines … If certain materials are essential, I have no choice but to ask scholars in other countries for them, which are digitally available in where they are."
This screenshot captured from the North's official Korean Central Television shows magazines with pictures of North Korean fashion models. Yonhap |
It is ironic, she noted, that South Korean scholars are usually the last in the world to know what is happening in North Korea, which makes it difficult for them to assess the situation promptly. This is also bad for the public which relies on their assessments to understand North Korea.
As a person who has watched many North Korean films and TV dramas among other media content, Yee said she is confident that no sensible South Koreans would fantasize about life in the North today.
Nevertheless, she believes the process of lifting the ban should be gradual, especially on the web.
"My biggest worry is that North Korea, one of the world's cyberwarfare powerhouses, may use its websites or other online channels to compromise users' computers," she said. "Also, North Korea's media has a language issue, with many swear words and vulgar expressions it often uses. We should think about whether it is appropriate to open it to, say, people of all ages. We might need to consider making education programs for media literacy before and after lifting the ban."
(责任编辑:行业动态)
推荐文章
-
The Apple iPod: Pocket Music Before That Phone
These days, everyone has a phone in their pocket that can stream and download music, but two decades ...[详细] -
雅安日报讯抛出高额利息回报的诱惑,谎称投资做生意,15年的时间里先后骗取160余名亲朋好友3千余万元。日前,玩“空手道”的被告人杨某被雨城区人民法院以集资诈骗罪判处有期徒刑十四年,并处罚金5万元,退赔 ...[详细]
-
世界糖尿病日义诊现场雅安日报讯14日是第22个世界糖尿病日。当天,市人民医院内分泌科医护人员在市区新民街为广大市民免费测血糖和义诊。这是该科医护人员连续12年在世界糖尿病日风雨无阻走上街头开展义诊活动 ...[详细]
-
积极担当,勇于作为!倡议全省农技“轻骑兵”积极参与强降雨防御保障农业生产安全行动
积极担当,勇于作为!倡议全省农技“轻骑兵”积极参与强降雨防御保障农业生产安全行动_南方+_南方plus致全省社会化农技服务工作者:受“海葵”残余环流和季风影响,珠江三角洲多个市县已经出现大暴雨、局部特 ...[详细] -
Kenneth Dillon ,August 1, 2024 Pragmocracy ...[详细]
-
在新春佳节即将来临之际,宝兴县部分重建户提前搬进了新家。在按照传统习俗杀好年猪后,他们又灌好了香肠,准备迎接春节的到来。图为近日,在宝兴县陇东镇苏村1组,农户王强的儿子正在自家楼顶的杂物间挂香肠。记者 ...[详细]
-
作为远古时代人们生活中不可或缺的盛贮器,我国在新石器时期已有带耳、带提梁的陶罐。继陶罐之后,青瓷一经出现就势不可挡。原始青瓷在其创烧之初,凹弦纹、云雷纹等纹饰就相伴而生。汉代,青瓷罐因烧造技术成熟,加 ...[详细]
-
2023年的夏天,贵州“村超”一脚踢开了“流量阀门”,火爆出圈,活力四射的足球赛事诠释了人们对美好幸福的热烈追求,也展现了一个活力满满、拼搏奋进的多彩贵州。据了解,2024年“村超”总决赛阶段的比赛已 ...[详细]
-
11 Unique Amaros and Liqueurs to Level Up Your Aperol Spritz
Spritzes, made of sparkling wine, soda water, and amaro, have become synonymous with summer in the U ...[详细] -
云鼎柑普茶、太粮油粘米、黄圃腊肠、新会陈皮| “红荔奖”包装设计类参赛作品展播④_南方+_南方plus近日,由广东省农业农村厅指导,广东省农业对外经济与农民合作促进中心、广东省农业农村短视频制作推广中 ...[详细]
热点阅读