Ask a North Korean

by Daniel Tudor

  Until several years ago (when I was still living in North Korea), foreign movies and TV programs were distributed on CDs and USB drives that had been smuggled in. North Koreans living on the coastline and near the border would listen to Radio Free Asia, Voice of America and even had access to ordinary South Korean TV programs and anti-North Korean broadcasts by South Korea.

  Shortly after that, the regime began to crack down on those watching foreign TV in Pyongyang, forcing people to tune into the same TV channel or radio station all day. People were no longer able to watch the channel of their choice, but the younger generation’s desire for outside information never dwindled.

  When I was still in Pyongyang, it took at least two to three years for South Korean hit movies to get to North Korea. My sources in North Korea now say it only takes a few days. People living in Kaesong and Wonsan record South Korean TV programs when they air, and sell copies on the black market the next day.

  When I was still in North Korea, I only watched South Korean TV occasionally, and out of sheer curiosity. But these days North Koreans watch it almost every day. I wonder what is going on in young North Koreans’ minds while they receive education under the socialist dictatorship and watch capitalist media and TV programs at night.

  One thing I can tell you for sure is that the influx of outside information has played a role in shaping the way North Koreans perceive the world as well as the desire to escape the regime: I’m the perfect example. As I became more familiar with outside information, the society I saw in dramas and movies didn’t seem that strange to me anymore.

  After watching dramas and movies, I knew I desperately wanted to live in this world I had seen. It became one of the main reasons I left North Korea. While I was staying at a refugee camp in Southeast Asia, most North Korean defectors I met there were already knowledgeable about South Korean society.

  Financial difficulty and hunger were not the reasons these people left North Korea: they made a decision to escape from North Korea for their children’s future and due to the admiration they had for South Korean society. I think this wouldn’t have been possible if they hadn’t had access to information from the outside world.

  At the same time, I don’t think it will cause the collapse of the North Korean regime, and it won’t bring any upheaval or demonstrations against the regime, either. Let me tell you why.

  North Koreans can’t process the information they get from the outside world. After growing up so strictly brainwashed by the regime, they often lack the ability to think critically and be creative. The regime continues to wield a massive amount of power over its people through terror.

  It doesn’t matter that North Koreans now realize how irrational the regime is. There’s absolutely nothing they can do. Even if a group of people wanted to gather and demonstrate against the regime, they would have to organize a meeting to make a plan: This just isn’t possible in North Korean society.

  In North Korean society, you never know who might be working as a secret agent for the regime. If you get caught doing something they don’t like, your relatives will also be held responsible for your sins. So North Koreans rarely talk about their true feelings with other people: they do everything they can to appear loyal to the regime.

  Of course, an influx of outside information is better than nothing. If information is steadily distributed around the country and the perceptions of North Koreans change, we could perhaps hope for the democratization of North Korea.

  But just the fact that North Koreans can now watch South Korean TV drama and movies isn’t enough: creating an atmosphere that will encourage transition would be more meaningful and effective.

  What would North Koreans think if they saw Seth Rogen’s movie The Interview?

  DT: There is no doubt that The Interview is not funny. But what would North Koreans themselves think about the main concept of the movie, that of an assassination attempt on Kim Jong Un? It’s a valuable question to ask, as the answer can tell us something about the extent of loyalty to the regime.

  Je Son Lee:

  Throughout watching The Interview, I wondered what the purpose was in making the movie. I pondered this for a while, but I will never understand why. I’ve watched lots of Hollywood films—even when I was living in North Korea—but this is the first time I’ve watched such a terrible Hollywood movie.

  This movie has absolutely no consideration for its viewers. Making a movie that is worthwhile to watch is the least movie producers can do for their paying viewers. If they had this in mind, I believe they wouldn’t have made such a lousy, terrible film.

  Prior to the official release of The Interview, there had been all kinds of fuss over it. It received international attention when the personal e-mails of Sony Pictures executives were leaked and President Obama made a statement condemning the hacking, which was allegedly carried out by North Korea in retaliation for making a mockery of their leader. I’m not 100 percent sure if North Korea was really behind the cyber terror attacks on Sony Pictures.

  I decided to watch The Interview as soon as it was released. After all, it was a major Hollywood film about North Korea, about a plot to assassinate Kim Jong Un. I wanted to see the movie for myself and was curious to find out how North Korea was depicted. So, I went straight to watch it as soon as the movie became available online.

  Now, I want my two hours and money back.

  I can summarize my thoughts and opinions about The Interview as follows: First, it’s way too childish. Many parts in this movie are very different from the reality of North Korea. I guess I have nothing to say to people who insist that it is just a comedy that people would expect to watch while eating popcorn and sitting on the couch, and that no one expected The Interview to be anything more serious than Meet the Parents. Since it was the first major Hollywood film depicting North Korea, I just hoped that it would be slightly better than a B-class comedy movie.

  Secondly, what do I think of the cyber attacks, if North Korea did carry them out against Sony Pictures? Well, for one thing, it is premature to blame North Korea for the cyber attacks. None of us definitively knows that North Korea carried them out. Even if North Korea is responsible for the cyber attacks, I think Sony Pictures got what they deserved. If they decided to make a movie about the Supreme Leader of North Korea, they should’ve seen what was coming.

  And finally, what would North Koreans think of this movie if they watched it? They would feel resentment toward the producers of this movie rather than being critical of Kim Jong Un and the North Korean government. North Koreans are less loyal to the leader than in the past, and they fantasize about capitalism while being displeased with the North Korean government. But they’re still confined to the territory of North Korea and Kim Jong Un is the Supreme Leader they pay utmost respect to.

  The Supreme Leader is a father figure to all North Koreans. Thus, it will inevitably bring harmful consequences to satirize and lampoon him in a movie like that. For example, even if some children are deeply displeased with their parents, it doesn’t help to make fun of their parents in front of them. No matter how lousy your parents are, they’re still your parents.

  The movie also portrays a reality that’s very different from what North Koreans know. The movie will only make them divert their anger and resentment away from the North Korean government and toward the United States.

  But please bear in mind that all of this is my very personal opinion.

  Do North Koreans really believe the government’s propaganda?

  DT: This is a very complex matter, but in simple terms, some do and some don’t. From my own research, it seems that those who live near the Chinese border or in large towns and cities, and who consume foreign media, are most likely to reject government propaganda. The elderly, and those who live in the countryside, are less likely to question it.

  Mina Yoon:

  I would say in North Korea, there are two sorts of people: Those who have no doubt that North Korea is the center of the world and
its leader is superhuman, and those who do not. You might wonder, then, what the ratio of each is.

  Unfortunately, I can’t give you a clear-cut number. That’s because in North Korea it is very hard to know what others are really thinking. Because of the strict regulations on speech, people cannot openly exchange their opinions with others. However—from my very subjective impression—around 70–80 percent of North Koreans are probably in the latter category.

  Let me tell you why I assume this.

  Before 1994, when North Korea was ruled by Kim Il Sung, people received food rations from the government. At that time, you really didn’t have much to be worried about when you finished all your given work for the day. People believed that they were enjoying the happiest life on earth in return for their consistent loyalty to their leader. At that time, the government’s propaganda seemed to be working pretty well.

  However, the situation has since changed. Far from receiving regular food rations, these days, even the water and electricity supply is limited. People have to manage on their own through the markets, instead of depending on the government like they once did. Furthermore, there is so much information coming in now from the outside. As such, people don’t believe everything the government tells them any more.

  However, I would assume that 20–30 percent still take the propaganda as the complete truth. I myself used to be living proof of this. My father, who was a military officer, raised his kids as radical communists. Because what I learned at school matched with what my father told me, I did not need to question anything.

  Father used to tell me that we North Koreans had been liberated from Japanese colonization and American threats only because the people had worshiped their leader so sincerely. He said without our leader, Kim Il Sung, we would have had to live miserably just like the Japanese or South Koreans—who were deprived of all basic dignities as human beings.

  Growing up, I once heard horrible stories about a Korean girl who went to school in a Hanbok (a traditional Korean costume) and had her Hanbok ripped off with a knife by her Japanese classmates. I also heard about South Korean kids who had to shine the shoes of American soldiers to earn their own tuition. Listening to those stories of our fellow Koreans, my little heart was broken and I often thought about possible ways to bring all those people to North Korea. But my father told me that it was because of the South Korean government and the U.S. that these people could not come to North Korea, even though they wanted to. He concluded that this was why we should drive the U.S. military out of the Korean peninsula as soon as possible and reunify Korea. That was the only way that North Korean and South Korean people could prosper together, he said.

  When I was a kid, in my eyes my father was a truly great person. He always put other people’s happiness before his own and he lived his life primarily for the community, society and nation that he belonged to. I was deeply proud of my father, a man who was so different from others. I often thought I wanted to be an even greater person than him, and from time to time, I pictured myself becoming a party officer or army executive member, even though I was a girl.

  Looking back, thanks to my father’s education, I was inspired to think thoroughly about the true nature of our society, community and nation, and agonized over what it means to live a meaningful and valuable life. My conclusion was that I should be loyal to the government. I believe this conclusion contributed to my later decision to serve in the military.

  I know it may sound a bit silly, but we—I would like to use the North Korean military “we” to express what I felt part of—felt good that our work had a visible influence on the attitudes of the South Koreans and Americans. To be more specific, I was told that when we took a strong stance in developing cutting-edge nuclear weapons, then the U.S. would often propose a return to negotiations in response. At those talks we could then ask the Americans to provide us with rice or other scarce resources, or lead them to loosen the economic blockade against us. That’s what I read from the education material, too. In short, I learned that “Our leader’s courage and audacity conquered the world.”

  I remember there were stacks of corn sacks with “Gifts from the U.S.” written on the bags. I later found out that these bags were actually donated by the U.S. and were not in fact an American tribute to us. I was told that the Americans gave us the rice because they were afraid of us! I had no idea about the truth then. I was simply proud to be part of the military in such a powerful nation, and when I sometimes ran into the posters saying “The world runs around Chosun,” I felt very proud of myself—and my country.

  Reading about the propaganda and ideological education in North Korea, you might start feeling a bit concerned. Well, I would say you don’t really have to be. That’s because more and more North Korean people are realizing that theirs is not a normal nation. Just look at me—someone who used to be truly loyal to the government but who eventually left North Korea. Am I not a living example of the recent changes in North Korea?

  You see, these days, many North Koreans criticize their government in front of other people.

  I once worked as a vendor in the market selling corn. I vividly remember a rumor once that there would be a distribution of food rations for a couple of days to celebrate Kim Jong Il’s birthday. But when my colleague in the market—an older lady—heard of the rumor, she scoffed at it, saying:

  “Oh…I do not buy it. Do they expect me to believe what they are saying after all these scams? How many times have we been deceived by the government?

  “We’ll only get rations after the grains are processed, cooked, eaten and pooped out—when I see the starving mutts trying to eat them.

  “Look at the currency revaluation:* it’s always the people who suffer. I don’t believe anything or anyone any more… come to think of it, I feel so bad about your generation.”

  I thought her outburst was both amusing and realistic, but at the same time, her words made me feel depressed about the dark future lying ahead for our generation.

  Writing this, I feel heavy-hearted. All those memories and the agonies that I went though—even after I decided to leave North Korea—are coming back to me all at once. But people say pain can be reduced when shared with others, and I think this is true.

  Do North Koreans disapprove of the regime’s nuclear program?

  DT: It is a common criticism that the DPRK spends huge amounts of money on its nuclear program, whilst millions of North Koreans continue to live in abject poverty. It may surprise you to learn that despite this, most North Koreans seem to approve of the nuclear program. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they support the government behind it, but rather, they believe that having nuclear weapons will prevent their country from being pushed around by others.

  To understand how a state like North Korea can exist, you have to understand Korea’s history and self-image as a small—and divided—nation colonized by Japan, and bullied by China, the U.S., and Russia. It is the people’s sense of past humiliations, and fear of a repeat, that the DPRK government feeds off.

  Je Son Lee:

  No, to my knowledge most ordinary North Koreans don’t have negative opinions of the regime’s nuclear program.

  When I was still living in North Korea, the regime had a successful nuclear test. People were very proud of it. We once had a town hall meeting where my neighbors talked about how the U.S. could not boss us around anymore. Most North Koreans are very aware of the fact that other countries make fun of and look down upon North Korea. North Koreans think that the main reason for this is our poverty. North Koreans are well aware of their country’s status in the international community.

  In fact, when North Koreans return after spending some time abroad, people are curious as to know how North Koreans are perceived in other countries. Those North Koreans would tell their neighbors that North Korea and its people are usually looked down upon. People take great interest in this and word spreads quickly among the people.

  In my hometown, many of m
y neighbors frequently visited China, without permission from the government. Still, they eventually voluntarily return to North Korea because they get discriminated against in China. When you’re a North Korean in China, they treat you as if you’re always starving. The moment you say you’re from North Korea, they would throw food at you, saying things like, “You poor thing, you must be starving! Here’s food!” Incidents like this make North Koreans feel self-conscious.

  Therefore, North Koreans become very proud when they hear that North Korea has become a de facto nuclear state. When North Koreans hear news like this, they tend to think: “Our nation may be poor. But we can be one of the most powerful and influential nations in terms of defense.”

  Unlike South Korea, North Korea invests heavily in history education, especially the period of Japanese imperial rule and the era following independence. As many people know, the Japanese committed unpardonable atrocities against unarmed, innocent Koreans. The North Korean government highlights these acts of brutality and the agony people face when they suffer the loss of their country. The North Korean government justifies nuclear weapons as a means of protecting the nation.

  The brutality of the Japanese and U.S. military are depicted in textbooks. North Koreans read such textbooks from their kindergarten years. Pictures and graffiti of Japanese and American soldiers committing acts of violence are painted on the buildings of kindergartens, schools, and offices in North Korea. If you grow up being brainwashed and exposed to such an environment from kindergarten onwards, how would you feel? North Koreans grow up realizing the importance of protecting their own country.