A Quiet Opening: North Koreans in a Changing Media Environment
All media and publications are state controlled. North Korea is among the most isolated of nations, with cyberspace policies considered among the most restrictive in the world. Since the 2000’s North Koreans are getting a little more access to global media and other information, which is loosening the regime’s iron grip on their knowledge. So far these changes have been very small but they are trying to gain more knowledge about technology. With these small changes, they are illustrating what may be a potential long-term route for change.
Since the change of the dictatorship in December 2011, North Koreans are starting to gain more information about the world around them. They are less “afraid” of the repercussions involved with getting caught and more interested in learning about new technology and how to use that technology to gain information about other countries. In an article that was released on May 11, 2012, there were interviews conducted over the last ten years where refugees, travelers, and defectors stated that North Koreans are using, “illegal Chinese mobile phones, DVDs, computers and small flash drives to work around official barriers to outside information.”
These actions from North Koreans are surprising because of the various consequences they could receive if caught with this technology. By accessing any kind of foreign media it could immediately result in being sent to labor camps, imprisonment, or publicly executed. Breaking these laws recently have started to become “normal” with Kim- Jong Un ruling.
During a broadcast on May 8, Kim stated, “We must use the internet to find more data on international trends and advance science and technology from other countries.” This was an extremely surprising comment made by Kim. This comment made gives the world some hope that North Korea will soon start to understand the 21st century and use this new technology to help their citizens learn and communicate globally.
In the above picture, a North Korean military commander showing Kim- Jong Un new military equipment
In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, people look at the 3G moblie phones on display in a closet in Pyongyang, capital of North Korea, on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008. Egyptian telecom giant Orascom launched an advanced mobile phone network in North Korea on Monday, the latest attempt to introduce a global symbol of personal freedom into one of the world’s most tightly controlled societies. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhang Binyang)
Sources:
http://www.audiencescapes.org/research/north-korea-quiet-opening/quiet-opening-north-korea-804
Click to access A_Quiet_Opening_FINAL_InterMedia.pdf
Post Made By: Ana Goldberg
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