Kim's Kingdom: North Korea's Radio Waves of Resistance

It's impossible to count how many North Koreans listen to these stations, but there is anecdotal evidence the numbers are significant. For starters, on dozens of occasions, authorities in Pyongyang have used their own media to attack foreign broadcasters. The North reserves the insult "rep...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Wall Street journal Asia
Main Author Beck, Peter M
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hong Kong Dow Jones & Company Inc 14.04.2010
Subjects
Bans
Currency revaluation
Economic reform
Listening
Popularity
Radios
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Summary:It's impossible to count how many North Koreans listen to these stations, but there is anecdotal evidence the numbers are significant. For starters, on dozens of occasions, authorities in Pyongyang have used their own media to attack foreign broadcasters. The North reserves the insult "reptile" exclusively for foreign broadcasters. Last month, the regime likened defector broadcasters to "human trash." Ironically, this diatribe also contained the first official mention that the botched currency revaluation had taken place. Foreign broadcasters not only struck a nerve, but also forced the regime to discuss developments it would prefer to ignore. If the broadcasts were not being listened to, the regime would ignore them instead of lavishing free publicity. We can do much more to improve broadcasting to North Korea. VOA and RFA only broadcast five hours a day, and the defector stations limp along on shoestring budgets due to widespread public indifference in South Korea. President Obama's human-rights envoy for North Korea, Robert King, has pledged to expand funding for Korean broadcasting. Pyongyang claims that foreign broadcasts are part of the Obama administration's "hostile policy" toward the North. But North Koreans deserve to hear the truth -- not only about their own country, but also the world at large.