North Korean Room
LIFE IN NORTH KOREA
Despite over two decades of crackdowns, the popularity of South Korean media remains undiminished in North Korea. South Korean songs, videos, and other cultural products continue to spread widely, often facilitated by local officials who accept bribes in exchange for turning a blind eye. K-pop has captivated the younger generation, who are increasingly skeptical about the future promised by their government.
In earlier years, authorities resorted to cutting electricity to entire neighborhoods to trap foreign media in players, enabling door-to-door searches. However, North Koreans quickly adapted by using devices with USB inputs or maintaining hidden, unregistered media players. These tactics highlight both the persistence of the people in seeking out banned content and the growing cultural curiosity that transcends state crackdown.
"Notel" or "notetel" - a uniquely North Korean word combining ‘notebook’ and ‘television’ - are easily found in the underground market and are also available in some state shops and markets. The device was legalized in 2014, according to escapee-run news outlets in Seoul - one of many recent measures taken by the state to accommodate grassroots change. The new rules, however, also require North Koreans to register their notel, enabling authorities to monitor who is watching banned foreign media.
The transition away from bulky VHS tapes and DVDs is making it easier for citizens to evade trouble during such checks. USB sticks are significantly smaller and can be hidden more easily but are still at risk of being found. MicroSD cards are much more difficult to discover because they are so small and, if they are about to be found, can be easily destroyed by snapping them in half. They can also be easily hidden in someone’s mouth ahead of an inspection.
“To avoid getting caught, people load a North Korean DVD while watching South Korean dramas on a USB stick, which can be pulled out,” a North Korean escapee said. “They tell the authorities, who feel the heat from the notel to check whether or not it has been recently used, that they were watching North Korean films.”
Joo Yang, a North Korean escapee and jewelry designer, recalls how she and her friends sought out South Korean films and music videos on USB sticks from street markets before fleeing in 2010. Female smugglers would use Seoul accents to attract customers, sometimes inviting them into rooms filled with imported clothes and cosmetics. South Korean beauty products, two to three times more expensive than their local counterparts, symbolized a taste of freedom for those like Yang, who equates beauty with personal autonomy.
While local cosmetics are available, foreign brands offer a variety that is sought after by those eager to express individuality and push the boundaries of what is socially acceptable in North Korea.
Foreign radio broadcasts remain important features of the North Korean information environment, especially when viewed from an ecosystem perspective, where radio functions as a directly accessible source of otherwise unavailable content. For all the ways in which North Koreans can now acquire, share, and consume outside media content, foreign radio broadcasts remain the only source of nationally available, real-time, targeted news content available inside North Korea.
For several decades, the North Korean regime employed a simple tactic to prevent citizens from accessing uncensored foreign radio and television stations: it fixed receivers so they cannot be tuned away from North Korean stations. With analog sets, this was easy because the tuning mechanism would either be physically disabled or have a sticker put over the dial to prevent it from being moved. Officials would check that the sticker was still in place during random checks on homes.
To circumvent these checks, which are still in place, many North Koreans have a second radio or television that has not been declared to authorities and retains its ability to receive foreign broadcasts, such as the Korean-language broadcasts by Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, the BBC, and KBS.
As a second line of defense against foreign radio, the North Korean regime maintains a network of jamming transmitters that are on the air around the clock to block the reception of a handful of foreign shortwave broadcasters. This brute-force approach involves transmitting loud noise on the same frequency as a foreign radio or television signal to overpower it so citizens cannot hear or watch it.
The Yalu River is a critical component of a complex network that facilitates the flow of global information and media into the country. This network has contributed to the rise of North Korea's underground markets, often operated by women who discreetly sell both essential goods and occasional luxuries to their communities, while their husbands fulfill poorly paid, state-mandated jobs.
These underground markets offer more than just food and clothing; they also provide access to forbidden media content, such as foreign films, music, and news. Devices like USB drives and SD cards are sold covertly inside rice cookers, bypassing government restrictions. For many North Koreans, these markets are a vital source of both sustenance and information, allowing them to support their families and access media otherwise banned by the state.