Should North Korean YouTube be banned?

North Korean presenter Un A of "Echo DPRK," a YouTube channel believed to be managed by the North Korean regime, introduces goods at a department store in Pyongyang. Korea Times file

By David A. Tizzard

If people in Pyongyang could watch Polish student v-logs, check reaction videos to the latest Italian espresso machines, and listen to Senegalese lo-fi beats while they travel around the city, things would be very different for them. But rather than focusing on what those inside North Korea can or can't engage with, how about those of us in more open and democratic societies: What should we be allowed to access on social media? And who should and shouldn't be allowed to post things?

The reason the question is important is because YouTube has once again shutdown a North Korean channel. While much is said about South Korea's cultural outputs and the influence of hallyu, few are as aware that North Korea, in an effort to attract others and soften their image, has also embarked on a little soft power trip of its own, creating social media-friendly videos and posts for international viewers. Unfortunately, for them and for us, their content is being taken down very quickly and without notice. The American platform YouTube did not provide a reason for the latest closure but it does have form for banning content produced in Pyongyang. In December 2020, it closed two accounts featuring v-logs from North Korea starring a woman called Un A. Those videos looked at "daily life" in the capital, trips to the supermarkets, and what kind of snacks people enjoy.

The latest North Korean YouTube channel to face the axe is Sonamu TV, a collection of v-logs featuring Jin Hui as she goes shopping for clothes, checks out historic sites, and visits athletes. Jin Hui certainly wouldn't look out of place in a South Korean drama or glossy high-end advert ― she has big round eyes, a clear complexion, and the videos focus on her appearance and natural beauty. While Kim Yo-jong, Choe Son-hui and Ri Sol-ju are often the only women seen in the halls of power around Pyongyang, with Hyon Song-wol taking a more cultural position, the recent videos that North Korea has been putting out all heavily feature women in their 20s and 30s. In one, Jui Hui visits the women's football coach Ra Un-sim. This seems part of a clear attempt from Pyongyang to reflect values, identities, and attitudes in-line with international trends. It also seeks to dispel ideas that the country is little more than a gerontocratic patriarchy.

The videos themselves are an attempt at modernity. They are certainly not as fire as the latest TikToks being yeeted out by Gen Z and Generation Alpha in other countries, but they aren't actually that bad. They don't have Ed Sheeran writing their lyrics for them, but whatever else one thinks of the soundtrack, the editing, and the filters, it at least gives us a view of North Korea made by North Koreans. And that's all we can ask for.

But then the question again: Who are we to deny them that opportunity? And to then further deny others from observing their creations? We have become accustomed to certain users online being given checkmarks of legitimacy or disclaimers that they are from a state-run operation, but if we are denied the opportunity to watch certain videos or content because of political and ideological differences, how "open" are we really?

Of course many see this North Korean content as little more than propaganda and far-removed from the reality people experience there, but aren't we all promoting ourselves in some way or another online anyway? Every filtered photo and curated tweet is self-branding; every Insta story self-aggrandizing; our entire content a romanticized view of who we actually are. Surely the argument isn't being made that after watching a few North Korean videos we're going to suddenly find ourselves goose-stepping around the living room singing the latest banger from the Moranbong Band and championing Juche to our loved ones?

The one thing that anyone interested in North Korea needs is up-to-date information from as many sources as possible: diplomatic, economic, cultural, political, geographic, sociological, internal and external. It's actually very hard, if not impossible, to be truly informed about North Korea, but it remains a subject on which everyone has an opinion. And the more extreme the opinion, the more traction it will receive. Park Yeon-mi will get millions of views and huge book deals by talking about human feces used as fertilizer and people eating rats; a German diplomat's 8-year account of living and working in North Korea will barely register outside a circle of 10 or 12 people.

That's why it's disappointing YouTube continually denies us the opportunity to watch contemporary North Korean-produced social media content. Although the differences are obviously stark, perhaps sometimes we should also not forget that we too live under the eyes of our tech giant's loving embraces and fatherly care as it dictates what passes as acceptable discourse for us to consume.

Dr. David A. Tizzard (datizzard@swu.ac.kr) has a Ph.D. in Korean Studies. He is a social/cultural commentator and musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. The views expressed in the article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times.