Pyongyang has recently banned the import of
portable media players produced in China, referred to as ‘notetel’ in the
North. This is allegedly due to the perceived effects their widespread use is
having on the population, particularly with regards to watching smuggled South
Korean media content.
“The state has been busy demanding results
from the ‘200-Day Battle’ and in the midst of this, trade companies have
suddenly received internal orders from the Central Party that Chinese notetel can no longer be imported,” a source from North Pyongan Province told Daily NK
in a telephone conversation.
“There have also been warnings from Party cadres that new penalties apply for those caught with notetel carrying South
Korean TV dramas, foreign films, and adult content.”
Sources in South Pyongan Province and Pyongyang corroborated this news.
Until very recently, shipments of the popular Chinese media devices were passing through Sinuiju customs without incident. From early
June, all bulk orders, and even small-scale orders of only a few dozen were
blocked, reported the source.
Underpinning the sudden restrictions are
two concerns on the leadership’s part: 1) shifts in public perception following
exposure to South Korean dramas; and 2) a recent crackdown on university
students caught watching adult movies in groups and “stirring up trouble.”
Currently, the source added, the ordinance
seems directed at wholesale operatives with large supplies of the compact
devices. General market stalls hawking the notetel have been as of yet largely
unaffected by the crackdown.
Over recent years, these devices, known as
EVD players in China, have become an integral part of everyday life in North
Korea and often the sole reliable source of entertainment. Televisions, VCRs,
and [non-portable] DVD players use a sizable amount of electricity in a
country notorious for its unreliable supply. Notetel on the other hand can run
on small motorcycle batteries [increasingly charged via solar power], enabling
residents to entertain themselves with content from south of the border at
their convenience, provided they have flash drives or CDs carrying the
contraband programming.
Restrictions notwithstanding, this is
unlikely to wane, the source said, noting, “People are still watching just as
many South Korean dramas as they used to, prompting security agents to exact
more scrutiny toward households with notetel on the premises,” the source
said, adding that the recent bump in power supply and number of residents with
disposable income is driving media consumption.
Despite state propaganda calling on people
to support work in farming communities and take part in the “200-Day Battle,” the majority of residents are focused on watching dramas or listening to music
smuggled in on thumb drives. “Even if they restrict notetel imports, the sheer
number of them already in circulation domestically would probably be enough to
satisfy demand for the year,” the source speculated.
She added that bulk notetel imports have
for some time been a robust source of income for trade companies, implying that
if donjuLiterally "masters of money," donju refers to people who hav... More (the newly affluent middle class) request them, “they will likely find
a bring a way to bring them in, no matter the circumstances.”
“South Korean dramas have put down deep
roots here in the North, so they [the authorities] will find that trying to dig
them all up will be an exercise in futility,” the source concluded.
