 The collage of images published by Rodong Sinmun today. | Image: Rodong Sinmun |
The North Korean authorities today published a number of articles comparing
the remodeling of Songdowon International Children’s Camp near Wonsan to the
recent sinking of a passenger ferry in South Korea with the loss of hundreds of
young lives. The propaganda is intended to demonstrate the superior quality of
life that children experience while living under the benevolence of the Kim
regime.
The daily publication of the Chosun Workers’Party, Rodong Sinmun published one piece entitled “Where is heaven and where is hell.” In the article,
author Kim Kyung Joo declares that the remodeling of the children’s camp in
Gangwon Province is a result of Kim Jong Eun’s “boundless affection.”
In a second article, elementary school teacher Ahn Hye Kyung asks “how
great is the contrast” between the joy of Songdowon International Children’s Camp and the “bleak
horror of the sea at Jindo [Island], where the Sewol went down.”
Alongside the critical comparisons, the publication also published a
collage of images from South Korean media reports on demonstrations following the sinking. Among the images, most taken in central Seoul, there are citizens
holding a placard demanding that the government take responsibility for the
sinking, and a banner pushing for President Park Geun Hye to resign (see top of page).
The North Korean propaganda website Uriminzokkiri has also been critical of
the South Korean government with regard to the sinking of the Sewol, as well as
linking the benevolence of Kim Jong Eun to the completion of work on the Songdowon camp.
