[imText1]One of the main roles of radio broadcasting towards North Korea is to deliver information about the outside world to North Korean citizens, who have extremely limited access to such news.
However, many of the North Korean citizens who listen to the broadcasts from South Korea and other foreign countries have difficulty following the programs due to their unfamiliar intonation and use of South Korean terminology. The broadcasters’ intended message may not be communicated effectively to the North Korean people.
Therefore, each nonprofit station tries to produce suitable and understandable programs for North Korean citizens. Among the NGO-based radio stations, Radio Free Chosun (RFC) holds as its first priority getting rid of any sense of difference listeners may feel between the North’s society and the outside world by producing programs using expressions, words, intonation, and sentiments common in North Korea.
RFC strives to use colloquial speech used by actual North Korean people in their everyday lives. For instances, they do not say “Republic of Korea” or “South Korea” as those in the South do, but instead use “South Chosun” (nam-chosun). In the case of Vietnam, they do not pronounce it with an American pronunciation but in the Vietnamese way. RFC does not want its listeners to be constantly reminded of the fact that the broadcast did not originate within North Korea.
Manager Kim states, “We produce programs as if they are made in North Korea (in terms of accent, intonation and expressions) so that listeners can feel at home.”
For this reason, North Korean defectors are tasked as announcers and writers of RFC programs. This system can help minimize North Korean listeners’ sense of difference and increase their understanding of the contents.
Additionally, Manager Kim emphasized that when it comes to radio broadcasting to North Korea, the trust of North Korean citizens is very important. Since North Korean citizens are risking their lives to listen to the radio, the first thing RFC needs to do is to establish a reliable relationship with its listeners.
Manager Kim asserted that, “Among North Korean citizens, the tendency of distrusting the North Korean regime prevails. (Among those people) the ratio of people listening to foreign radios is gradually rising. People (who are listening to the radios) want to seek assurance for their future, so providing objective and highly credible information, which corresponds to their situation, is essential.”
He added, “If we continuously provide reliable information in a way that is familiar to North Korean citizens, I believe it will have a big influence on North Korea’s path in the future.”
Radio Free Chosun is applying two elements, “entertainment” and “education,” to criticize the lies of the Kim Jong Il regime and encourage a change in citizens’ awareness; drama is one way to use both elements at once.
Manager Kim explained, “As we know, the internal and external evaluations of these dramas indicate they are effective. Currently, we are airing a radio drama titled, ‘Like Father, Like Son,’ which is a program that combines narration and drama.”
“Like Father, Like Son” is a fictional work satirizing Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Eun in which voice actors portray Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Eun humorously and sarcastically. This play depicts the reality facing current North Korean society and the hidden truth of Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Eun through drama. Since the reality RFC describes can be a shock for North Korean listeners, who have been receiving education idolizing their leaders for their whole lives, the RFC is using the lighter format of “drama,” according to Kim.
In addition, Radio Free Chosun produces and broadcasts various programs in order to awaken to North Korean citizens’ awareness.
These are “editorials,” which represent the position of broadcasting station, programs about Korean and world history for youth, and “Reform and Opening Is the Only Way to Survive,” which makes a suggestion for North Korea’s future.
The latter program conveys the cases of Vietnam and Russia, which once were socialist states but accomplished development through reform and opening. Accordingly, it emphasizes the necessity of reform and opening in North Korea.
Meanwhile, Kim expressed the difficulty of lack of feedback on the broadcasts.
He said, “It is important for all broadcasting, but in the case of radio broadcasting to North Korea, feedback is significantly important. It is most pitiful that we cannot access the opinions of our listeners inside North Korea.”
However, he went on, “Even though we lack feedback, we can get evaluations of programs from defectors residing in the border areas in China. And once the government provides active support for this activity to get feedback from defectors, we can produce much higher quality programs.”
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