[imText1]South Korean products enjoy immense popularity in North Korea’s markets, and there is hardly a young person left in urban areas who has not watched a Korean drama or movie. It is the impact of this ‘Korean Wave’ that is brought center stage in the new issue of NK Vision, a monthly Korean-language publication on Korean Peninsula issues from NKnet.
Not merely entertainment, it is said that the Korean Wave has a broad base of support in North Korea that crosses both region and social boundaries. It is something which many also see as a very real determiner of future social change.
Seo Jae Pyeong, who heads up the Committee for Democratization of North Korea, is one such person. He told NK Vision, “It’s not a case of an anti-regime faction emerging out of watching South Korean dramas and movies, but intellectuals and the young will watch these movies and dramas, and from that they will come to harbor the ideals of and a yearning for liberal democracy.”
“If the time for societal change comes,” Seo went on, “those people born after the 1970s can show an unforeseen strength. In China, there is a chance that these people will become an anti-regime faction.”
However, Seo was also quick to note some limitations; notably, that for the Korean Wave to create something similar to the Jasmine Revolution in the Middle East, “Until there is some kind of incident in a city of more than a million which then becomes the source of some new force of tens of thousands, it will be hard for a change like that of the Jasmine Revolution to occur in the near term.”
The author of ‘The Korean Wave Shaking North Korea’, Donga University professor Kang Dong Whan also adds in the piece, “If you regularly see something which at first you might have suspected to be based on a lie, eventually you come to believe it”.
“That kind of change in awareness brings about small changes in lifestyle, as well as being the chance for more people to decide to defect, and, ultimately, that can become a force for changing the North Korean system,” he went on.
Professor Kang explained the qualitative effect such media exposure can have on North Korean citizens, saying that “Seeing visual media from South Korea tells North Koreans about South Korean progress, and goes some way to overcoming the fears people hold towards South Korea.“
Shin Joo Hyun, the Chief Editor of the Daily NK agreed, adding, “It’s clearly the case that people’s yearning for external society is growing as a result of the Korean Wave, and that these elements are starting to mature.”
However, he too cautioned, “There needs also to be some problem or mistake or dispute within the regime, and there are no signs of that happening yet.”
While the ‘South Chosun Trend’ as it is known in the North is said to have reached a high level of penetration, it is hard to estimate just how popular it really is. Professor Kang pointed to the relative difference in official controls, saying, “This is a phenomenon in every part of the country including Pyongyang, but if you break it down and analyze by social class, it shows that it is the Party elite class which is most easily able to access the South Korean media, because inspections for them are the least strict.”
In addition, Shin Joo Hyun acknowledges that the difference in penetration between large cities and rural areas is large, but estimates that 7 in 10 people have had some exposure to South Korean visual media at some point, and that about one quarter seek it out consistently.
He said, “South Korean products have become popular as the market has undergone a revival, and many people are now aware through feedback from defectors of how well South Koreans live. That affection and preference extends to the Korean Wave and is helping it spread.”
It is true that those caught watching South Korean visual media face up to 2 years in a labor re-education camp, or up to 5 years in a prison camp for more serious cases. However, punishments vary according to bribes and social status.
Professor Kang explained, “When the investigation team is just one or two people then the whole thing can go away with a bribe of cigarettes and alcohol. Based on this, it is apparent that official controls cannot be fully implemented.”
Furthermore, Seo said, “When a champion family, war veteran or members of the core class are caught in a crackdown, there is a lot of internal pressure to change the level of punishment. When people from these classes are caught, they appeal to their relevant organization to defend them as having been a ‘loyal servant’, in the hope of receiving special dispensation.”
The Daily NK’s Shin revealed more, saying, “It is not a case of the authorities losing the will to crack down, but that those who must carry them out are corrupt and don’t have the will, meaning that there is a gap between the law and reality.”
