The Korean Wave Hits Pyongyang

Maybe you’ve heard of the “Korean wave” that hit Japan recently. Apparently, so have many North Koreans, and the Dear Leader–or whoever is running things up there these days–doesn’t approve. Note that the reporter is none other than North Korean defector Kang Chol-Hwan:

A former high-ranking official who recently entered South Korea as a defector said, “These days, among young North Koreans, South Korean culture is rapidly spreading. . . .” An ex-government official of the North who recently visited China said, “Nowadays, there are about 1,000 tapes of South Korean dramas and movies floating around Pyongyang. With interesting shows, there’s nothing you can’t find, from relatively old programs to recently broadcast TV dramas. . . .” A Korean-Chinese who recently came back from North Korea said South Korean television and movies were having a profound impact on the fashion trends of young North Koreans, with Seoul fashion now the vogue. . . . The Korean-Chinese official said that along the Sino-North Korean border, mobile phones from the South are recognized as offering the premium quality and denoting the bearer’s superior status. Among home electronics’ brands, names such as Samsung and LG are also considered peerless.

With the “[South] Korean Wave” sweeping its way through North Korean youth, leader Kim Jong-il is said to have issued a directive in early November demanding that the phenomenon be pulled out by the roots. A joint task force composed of party members, officials from the State Safety & Security Agency, the Ministry of Public Security and prosecutorial personnel were reportedly dispatched to crackdown on the trend. A former regional party executive who recently defected said vans with loudspeakers could be found all across the nation blaring street propaganda such as, “We must uproot vulgar acts like watching South Korean films or dramas, imitating [their] speech or singing [their] songs.” House raids and crackdowns by a mobile censorship team have also been strengthened. Those selling South Korean goods at markets are fined W100,000, while those found to be watching South Korean videos are subject to forced exile, including hard labor at one of the North’s infamous modern gulags. Citizens who distribute such material receive severe punishments corresponding to those meted out for acts of treason, the defector said.

This, in case you wondered, is the kind of Sunshine that actually matters. It enlightens the people of North Korea about the outside world and doesn’t produce any tax revenue for the regime. Not surprisingly, the North Korean government is fighting tool-and-nail to stop it.