K-pop luring young North Koreans to cross border: Washington Post
- 5 years ago
Western music in Eastern Europe during the Cold War... played a key role in knocking down the iron curtain.
Soviet youth illegally listened to recordings of Beatles songs,… and in 1987, East Berlin citizens gathered near the Berlin Wall to eavesdrop on songs played by British rock star David Bowie.
Now K-pop is seems to be playing a similar role in North Korea.
Won Jung-hwan reports.
A Washington Post article titled 'How K-pop is luring young North Koreans to cross the line',…has analyzed how South Korean pop music is seducing North Korea's youths.
The article gives evidence on how that South Korean's K-pop is playing a similar role to Western music during the Cold War, subtly undermining the propaganda of the North Korean regime,... with rising numbers of defectors citing music as one factor for their disillusionment with the North's government.
The article listed stories by several girls who came to South Korea.
They all said that they were brought up to perform patriotic songs praising the iron will of North Korea's leaders. However, their eyes were opened when they heard South Korean and American pop music,… expressing in detail how their facial expressions changed when listening to the music.
They said that by listening to K-pop,… they realized that North Korea was not the paradise it was made out to be.
Citing sources at a defector-led news service,… the article says the trend in the past year has been fueled by growing cellphone ownership in North Korea and videos brought in by traders from China.
It also said that 90 percent of 200 recent defectors were found to have watched foreign movies, TV and music in North Korea,… while three-quarters knew of someone who had been punished by a special unit of the police known as Group 109.
The North Korean defectors all said that their experience of Korean and American songs helped guide them through their journey,… not only when crossing the border, but also helping them understand the power of foreign news and culture in countering the regime's propaganda.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.
Soviet youth illegally listened to recordings of Beatles songs,… and in 1987, East Berlin citizens gathered near the Berlin Wall to eavesdrop on songs played by British rock star David Bowie.
Now K-pop is seems to be playing a similar role in North Korea.
Won Jung-hwan reports.
A Washington Post article titled 'How K-pop is luring young North Koreans to cross the line',…has analyzed how South Korean pop music is seducing North Korea's youths.
The article gives evidence on how that South Korean's K-pop is playing a similar role to Western music during the Cold War, subtly undermining the propaganda of the North Korean regime,... with rising numbers of defectors citing music as one factor for their disillusionment with the North's government.
The article listed stories by several girls who came to South Korea.
They all said that they were brought up to perform patriotic songs praising the iron will of North Korea's leaders. However, their eyes were opened when they heard South Korean and American pop music,… expressing in detail how their facial expressions changed when listening to the music.
They said that by listening to K-pop,… they realized that North Korea was not the paradise it was made out to be.
Citing sources at a defector-led news service,… the article says the trend in the past year has been fueled by growing cellphone ownership in North Korea and videos brought in by traders from China.
It also said that 90 percent of 200 recent defectors were found to have watched foreign movies, TV and music in North Korea,… while three-quarters knew of someone who had been punished by a special unit of the police known as Group 109.
The North Korean defectors all said that their experience of Korean and American songs helped guide them through their journey,… not only when crossing the border, but also helping them understand the power of foreign news and culture in countering the regime's propaganda.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.