By Park Yoon-bae
In North Korea, the spread of South Korean pop culture, widely known as hallyu, is nothing new. But to a large extent it has gained traction, particularly since the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
According to media reports, an increasing number of North Koreans are enjoying South Korean TV dramas, movies and music as they spend more time at home amid fears about the coronavirus. Undoubtedly, hallyu is becoming more popular in the North than ever before.
The growing popularity of hallyu shows that the Kim Jong-un regime has failed to prevent the influx of K-pop and other South Korean cultural products into the North, despite its prolonged border closures to stave off the coronavirus.
Pyongyang has so far reported no official COVID-19 infections. The border closures, especially with China, could have done the trick as far as the pandemic is concerned. However, they seemed to have done little to block hallyu from penetrating into the North.
South Korean pop culture products appear to have provided comfort and entertainment for many North Koreans who have long become weary of life under the regime due to the North's economic failures and chronic food shortages as well as rampant human rights abuses.
But Kim apparently considers hallyu to be a grave threat to his grip on power. That's why he branded K-pop a "vicious cancer" corrupting young North Koreans. He once referred to K-pop as a "foreign influence" that would make his country "crumble like a damp wall."
His remarks indicated that he was taking hallyu seriously. He might think that it's easier to keep his country free of COVID-19 than K-pop. He must have felt the dangerous effects of a cultural invasion from the South.
Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the North's ruling Workers' Party, published an article last month warning young North Koreans against using slang from South Korea. The newspaper urged them to speak the North's standard language represented by the Pyongyang dialect, while calling on the youth not to enjoy or embrace K-pop or adopt fashion and hairstyles of the South.
The article expressed concerns about the spread of hallyu, describing such cultural penetration as "even more dangerous than enemies who are carrying guns." It can be inferred that foreign influences such as K-pop and other cultural products could pose an existential threat to the North Korean regime.
That's why North Korean authorities have launched an extensive campaign against foreign influence. For this, the North introduced a law on banning reactionary ideologies and culture last December. Under the law, anyone caught possessing or distributing K-pop and other South Korean cultural products may face the death penalty. And those watching such products could be subject to a maximum 15 years in prison.
In addition, the law contains an article calling for up to two years of hard labor for those who adopt South Korean ways of speaking or singing. The article was added apparently because many North Koreans mimic what South Korean actors and actresses say in TV dramas and movies.
According to a report by Daily NK, an online media providing news about North Korea, a 20-year-old man living in Hyesan, Ryanggang Province bordering China, was punished with six months in a labor camp for mimicking the South Korean style of speaking in early July.
The report quoted a North Korean source as saying that the authorities have recently stepped up a crackdown on "anti-socialist phenomenon" among the youth. The unidentified source added that a disciplinary team consisting of college students has launched its activity of searching for those adopting South Korean-style fashions or hairdos.
Yet, it appears tricky for the North Korean authorities to keep what they describe as anti-socialist and reactionary ideologies and culture out of the country. The harder they crack down on those things, the more tempting North Koreans find South Korean ways of expression along with hallyu.
K-pop and other hallyu products have continued to be smuggled into the North on flash memory drives and SD cards carried across the Chinese border. The North's border closures against COVID-19 have proven ineffective in preventing those products from finding their way into the North.
The influx of hallyu could be accelerated as North Korea has reportedly resumed cross-border trade with China, though on a limited basis, since last month. It looks inevitable for the North to expand its trade in a desperate move to ease its economic hardships and worsening food shortages.
Hallyu has already become a global phenomenon as seen in the upbeat melodies of K-pop sensation BTS and the Oscar-winning film "Parasite" directed by Bong Joon-ho. It is almost impossible for any totalitarian country like North Korea to prevent hallyu from going viral within its borders.
There is no question Kim Jong-un has much to fear about hallyu. North Koreans' growing love for hallyu could someday drive their aspiration for freedom and democracy. If that day comes, Kim's nuclear weapons will be useless in prolonging his dynastic rule. Certainly hallyu could be far more devastating to his fragile inherited power than anything else.
The author (byb@koreatimes.co.kr) is the chief editorial writer of The Korea Times.
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According to media reports, an increasing number of North Koreans are enjoying South Korean TV dramas, movies and music as they spend more time at home amid fears about the coronavirus. Undoubtedly, hallyu is becoming more popular in the North than ever before.
The growing popularity of hallyu shows that the Kim Jong-un regime has failed to prevent the influx of K-pop and other South Korean cultural products into the North, despite its prolonged border closures to stave off the coronavirus.
Pyongyang has so far reported no official COVID-19 infections. The border closures, especially with China, could have done the trick as far as the pandemic is concerned. However, they seemed to have done little to block hallyu from penetrating into the North.
South Korean pop culture products appear to have provided comfort and entertainment for many North Koreans who have long become weary of life under the regime due to the North's economic failures and chronic food shortages as well as rampant human rights abuses.
But Kim apparently considers hallyu to be a grave threat to his grip on power. That's why he branded K-pop a "vicious cancer" corrupting young North Koreans. He once referred to K-pop as a "foreign influence" that would make his country "crumble like a damp wall."
His remarks indicated that he was taking hallyu seriously. He might think that it's easier to keep his country free of COVID-19 than K-pop. He must have felt the dangerous effects of a cultural invasion from the South.
Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the North's ruling Workers' Party, published an article last month warning young North Koreans against using slang from South Korea. The newspaper urged them to speak the North's standard language represented by the Pyongyang dialect, while calling on the youth not to enjoy or embrace K-pop or adopt fashion and hairstyles of the South.
The article expressed concerns about the spread of hallyu, describing such cultural penetration as "even more dangerous than enemies who are carrying guns." It can be inferred that foreign influences such as K-pop and other cultural products could pose an existential threat to the North Korean regime.
That's why North Korean authorities have launched an extensive campaign against foreign influence. For this, the North introduced a law on banning reactionary ideologies and culture last December. Under the law, anyone caught possessing or distributing K-pop and other South Korean cultural products may face the death penalty. And those watching such products could be subject to a maximum 15 years in prison.
In addition, the law contains an article calling for up to two years of hard labor for those who adopt South Korean ways of speaking or singing. The article was added apparently because many North Koreans mimic what South Korean actors and actresses say in TV dramas and movies.
According to a report by Daily NK, an online media providing news about North Korea, a 20-year-old man living in Hyesan, Ryanggang Province bordering China, was punished with six months in a labor camp for mimicking the South Korean style of speaking in early July.
The report quoted a North Korean source as saying that the authorities have recently stepped up a crackdown on "anti-socialist phenomenon" among the youth. The unidentified source added that a disciplinary team consisting of college students has launched its activity of searching for those adopting South Korean-style fashions or hairdos.
Yet, it appears tricky for the North Korean authorities to keep what they describe as anti-socialist and reactionary ideologies and culture out of the country. The harder they crack down on those things, the more tempting North Koreans find South Korean ways of expression along with hallyu.
K-pop and other hallyu products have continued to be smuggled into the North on flash memory drives and SD cards carried across the Chinese border. The North's border closures against COVID-19 have proven ineffective in preventing those products from finding their way into the North.
The influx of hallyu could be accelerated as North Korea has reportedly resumed cross-border trade with China, though on a limited basis, since last month. It looks inevitable for the North to expand its trade in a desperate move to ease its economic hardships and worsening food shortages.
Hallyu has already become a global phenomenon as seen in the upbeat melodies of K-pop sensation BTS and the Oscar-winning film "Parasite" directed by Bong Joon-ho. It is almost impossible for any totalitarian country like North Korea to prevent hallyu from going viral within its borders.
There is no question Kim Jong-un has much to fear about hallyu. North Koreans' growing love for hallyu could someday drive their aspiration for freedom and democracy. If that day comes, Kim's nuclear weapons will be useless in prolonging his dynastic rule. Certainly hallyu could be far more devastating to his fragile inherited power than anything else.
The author (byb@koreatimes.co.kr) is the chief editorial writer of The Korea Times.
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