Cadres Binging on S. Korean Dramas

As more North Koreans gain illegal access
to South Korean cultural content such as TV dramas, Party cadres and security officials who should be
at the forefront of exposing such activities are also joining in, with many even
spending sleepless nights watching dramas after work, Daily NK has
learned. 

These days even cadres from the Central
Party and offices like the Ministry of People
s Safety
[MPS] and the State Security Department [SSD] enjoy watching South Korean
dramas,
a source from South Pyongan Province told
Daily NK on Thursday.
Most say they need downtime
after work, and they watch dramas late into the night.” 

He added that most of these Party cadres
and security officials take advantage of the fact of their relative
freedom–that is, generally not subjected to home inspections to search for
illicit content– to quietly watch these shows with their families.
The dramas they choose are mostly period dramas such as Jingbirok or Jeong
Do Jeon
since they arent
politically charged. Shows about everyday life like
Kings Family are also popular,” he said.

A steady supply of electricity also enables
these officials to watch shows with far more ease than the households of ordinary
residents.
Some of them stay up late watching these
shows and then use their lunch breaks to take a nap,” he asserted.

The 109 Office [inspection team regulating
matters concerning South Korean media] has inminban [people
s unit] leaders in the village conducting surprise inspections at
people
s homes, but homes of Party cadres, MPS and SSD
officials. are left untouched; this situation is not unique to Pyongyang–it
applies throughout the country. 

Traders buy flash drives from China that
contain multiple drama episodes and offer them up as bribes to Party cadres,
and safety and security officials use confiscated goods to copy the content,
the source said. A lot of Party cadres and
security officials knowingly joke among themselves, asking each other if they
ve pulled another all-nighter or urge people to share instead of
hogging [all the good dramas] for themselves.”