'96% of North Korean citizens have watched South Korean dramas or movies'... survey done by telephone call

▲This photo, provided by Korean Central News Agency, KCNA, shows North Korea. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, November 30 (Yonhap) --  Even in the midst of tightening control over the inflow of external medias in North Korea, a survey showed that the majority of citizens have watched Korean dramas and movies. 
 
According to a survey done by the North Korean human rights group UMG and Daily NK by telephone calls on November 30 regarding the use of external information and media environment, 49 people (98%) among 50  answered yes to the question asking "Have you ever watched foreign content, including South Korea?"
 
However, there is possibility that the citizens were able to answer the call and participate in the interview as they are more exposed to external environments in relation to normal citizens of North Korea. 
 
To the question asking "Which foreign videos do you watch? (able to choose multiple answers). 96% said Korean dramas/ movies, 84% said Chinese dramas/movies, 68% said Korean concerts, 40% said Korean documentaries, and 24% said they watched American dramas and movies. 
 
To the question asking "How often do you watch these videos?," 28% said "More than once a week," 46% said "More than once a month," and one person said "on most days." Three out of four people watch foreign videos every once in a month. 20% said that they watch it "once in two or three months." 
 
As for the route of encountering foreign videos (multiple answers), "borrowing from family or relatives" (64%) was the most common, followed by "borrowing from friends for free (50%) and "bought at local marketplaces (22%).
 
To a question "foreign information that North Koreans need?" 74% answered "cultural and entertainment programs made in South Korea," 72% answered "Korean news, and 68% answered "information useful for daily life."  Forty-four percent said it was news related to North Korea.
 
For "Changes that have occurred after watching Korean or foreign videos," 79.2% said "increase in interest of Korean society," 56.3% said "started learning the way of speaking like a Korean," 39.6% said "followed the way Koreans dress." 
 
However, watching such videos imported from overseas seems to be somewhat limited.
 
To a question asking "Who do you watch it with?" (multiple answers), 90% of the respondents said they watch it with their "direct family," and 64% said they watched it alone. Only 18% of the respondents said they watched it with friends or neighbors.
 
North Korea is strengthening control over the import of external cultural assets by enacting the "Reaction Idea Culture Exclusion Act," which calls for the execution of South Korean video distributors and imprisonment of up to 15 years for viewers in December 2020.
 
North Korea made a law in December of 2020 to execute people who import South Korean videos, and people who watch the videos are going to end up in jail for 15 years. 
 
The report also pointed out that it has become more difficult to spread information on North Korea as exchanges between North Korea and China have been disrupted by North Korea's border blockade since the outbreak of COVID-19. 
 
However, on the other hand, as the media environment continues to develop in North Korea over the past few years, the number of North Koreans using computers has increased significantly, and storage devices such as microSD cards have become more common.
 
 
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Dowon Kim.)
 
 
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