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Media coverage of North Korea

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Media coverage of North Korea (officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea) is hampered by

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a lack of reliable information. There are a number of reasons for this. Media access to the country is

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severely restricted. Much information about North Korea is filtered through South Korea, but the

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longstanding conflict between the two countries distorts the information that is received. Another source
for information about North Korea is the testimony of defectors, but defectors are not necessarily
reliable. In the absence of solid facts, many reports are based on unsubstantiated claims and rumors.
Critics have said that the world's media has a hunger for sensationalist stories about North Korea, and

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this demand creates a supply. For all these reasons, there have been many examples of unreliable

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reports about North Korea.

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1 Difficulties in reporting
1.1 Lack of reliable information

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1.2 Restrictions on reporting in North Korea

2 Criticism of coverage

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2.1 Political conflict

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2.2 Defectors

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2.3 Sensationalism

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2.4 Examples of unreliable reports

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2.4.1 Hyon Song-

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wol
2.4.2 Death of Kim Chol

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2.4.3 Death of Jang Sung-taek

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2.4.4 Discovery of unicorns

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2.4.5 Kim Jong-il's golf

score

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2.4.6 How Americans Live

2.4.7 Mourning for Kim Jong-il
2.4.8 Distribution of Mein Kampf
2.4.9 Legal marijuana
3 See also
4 References
5 Further reading

Difficulties in reporting

[ edit ]

Lack of reliable information

[ edit ]

Media coverage is hampered by a lack of reliable information.[1][2] The verification of facts is notoriously
difficult.[3] Even intelligence agencies struggle with the task. Former US ambassador to South Korea,
National Security Adviser, and CIA officer Donald Gregg has described North Korea as the "longestrunning intelligence failure in the history of US espionage".[4]
Isaac Stone Fish of Foreign Policy has described the country as an "information black hole".[5] According
to Ralph Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum of the Center for Strategic and International Studies,
"Anyone who tells you that they know anything for certain about North Korea is either trying to kid you
or trying to kid themselves."[5]
South Korean journalists and media experts have described this as a "systemic problem".[6] Due to the
popularity of North Korean news, stories are frequently widely circulated in the global media with
minimal fact-checking or analysis.[7][8]

Restrictions on reporting in North Korea

[ edit ]

Media in North Korea are under some of the strictest government control in the world.[9] The main local
media outlet is the Korean Central News Agency.
North Korea has a high level of security and secrecy. Communication with the outside world is limited,

and internal communication also seems limited at times.[5] Reporters Without Borders describes North
Korea as the world's most closed country, [10] ranking it second last in the Press Freedom Index.
The North Korean government places stringent restrictions on foreign reporters, visitors, and even
residents of foreign origin. Freedom of movement is severely curtailed, interactions with local people are
supervised, and photography is heavily regulated. Because of this reporters often find it difficult to check
stories and establish hard facts.[7][11] Many analysts and journalists have never visited North Korea or
have had very limited access. As a result, their books and articles may rely on speculation and scanty
information gleaned from a single, uncorroborated source, such as a defector.[12]:5966, 107, 11718
When foreign journalists do visit the country, they run into problems, because North Korean and foreign
journalists have different understandings about the role of the media. North Koreans expect foreign
journalists to behave like Soviet journalists during the Cold War, while Western journalists would like to
exert the freedom of the press more widely.[13] Researching topics like prison camps are out of bounds,
and North Korean officials are often reluctant to give statements on the record. As with tourists, foreign
journalists are always accompanied by minders, and any encounters with locals have been arranged.[14]
Foreign journalists have access to the Internet, making real-time reporting possible. [14] Although control
is strict, foreign journalists are only rarely expelled from the country.[15] Photographer Eric Lafforgue was
banned from returning after taking many candid photographs.[16]
The Associated Press opened a video-only bureau in Pyongyang in 2006. In 2012, the bureau became
the first Western all-format bureau in the country.[17] The bureau does not have a full-time presence.
Rather, the journalists can only stay for weeks at a time in the country before having to request
permission anew.[18] AP photographer David Guttenfelder has been visiting North Korea since 2000, and
has experienced the easing of restrictions over time. In 2013 he reported being able to upload
photographs onto Instagram without censorship.[19]
Agence France-Presse opened a bureau in 2016. Under an agreement with theKorean Central News
Agency, AFP will be able to send teams of journalists into the country. As part of the agreement, a North
Korean photographer and a videographer will produce content under AFP supervision.[20]

Criticism of coverage
Political conflict

[ edit ]

[ edit ]

Since the Korean War (1950-1953), North and South Korea have
confronted each other over the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with a
permanent American garrison force situated in the south. Factual
reporting can be a casualty of this cold war.[3] Journalists and media
experts in South Korea have concluded that political hostility distorts
media coverage.[6]
North Korean authorities have attributed erroneous reporting on the
country to disinformation spread by South Korea and the United
States. Specifically, the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of
Korea, a DPRK-backed organisation, has accused the Chosun Ilbo, a
major South Korean newspaper, of employing "hack journalists" who

The Korean DMZ, viewed from

the north. The political division of
Korea continues to affect the media
coverage of North Korea.

intentionally report false information at the behest of the South

Korean government.[21]
Often the information release route is that the South KoreanNational Intelligence Service briefs South
Korean politicians, who then brief the media, providing the possibility of misunderstanding especially to
reporters eager for lurid stories. [22] South Korean officials routinely brief the media anonymously, so
there is no accountability if the information is later found to be incorrect.[23] Moreover, the NIS has been
accused of disseminating unverified information such as the false report of the execution of General Ri
Yong-gil which supports the depiction of North Korea as a dangerous and unstable country.[24]
The analyst Andrei Lankov argues that the mainstream media suppresses stories about relative
improvements in North Korea to avoid giving support to its government, or being perceived to do so. [25]

Defectors

[ edit ]

Main article: North Korean defectors

Defectors from North Korea are a key source of first-hand information for intelligence officers, scholars,
activists, and journalists. While their testimony is considered valuable, there is growing skepticism about
the accuracy of their accounts.[26] Often defectors are cited anonymously to protect their identities,
which makes it difficult to verify their information.[27]

Felix Abt, a Swiss businessman who lived in the DPRK, argues that defectors are inherently biased. He
says that 70 percent of defectors in South Korea are unemployed, and selling sensationalist stories is a
way for them to make a living. He also states that the overwhelming majority of defectors come from
North Hamgyong Province, one of North Korea's poorest provinces, and often have a grudge against
Pyongyang and provinces nearby. He states that defectors in South Korea's resettlement process tailor
their accounts over time to become less mundane and more propagandistic. He criticizes journalists and
academics for not being skeptical about even the most outlandish claims made by defectors.[12]:11718
Similarly, academic Hyung Gu Lynn has commented that some defectors embellish or fabricate their
stories to sell books or lobby for regime change.[28] Representatives of the defector community in South
Korea have also expressed concern about the unreliability of defector testimony.[29]
The journalist Jiyoung Song has said that she has encountered numerous inconsistent stories when
researching defectors over 16 years. She noted that cash payments for interviews are standard, and
have increased over the years. The more exclusive or emotional the story is, the higher the payment.[30]
After extensively interviewing Shin Dong-hyuk, a prominent defector, the journalist Blaine Harden wrote
in 2012 that, "There was, of course, no way to confirm what he was saying. Shin was the only available
source of information about his early life." According to Harden, Shin confessed that his original story
about his mother, told in interviews to South Korea's National Intelligence Service and others, and in his
memoir, was not true: "Shin said he had been lying about his mother's escape. He invented the lie just
before arriving in South Korea."[31] In January 2015, Harden announced that Shin had admitted that the
account of his life that he had given Harden was also false.[32] Andrei Lankov commented that "some
suspicions had been confirmed when Shin suddenly admitted what many had hitherto suspected",
described Harden's book as unreliable, and noted that defectors faced considerable psychological
pressure to embroider their stories.[33]

Sensationalism

[ edit ]

In the absence of solid facts, many reports are based onsensationalist claims, distortions, and
unsubstantiated rumors. [3][34] While many of these stories emanate from South Korea,[7][8] some of the
most outlandish stories come from the Japanese media and Japanese scholars.[35]
John Delury from Yonsei University argues that there is a demand for sensationalist news about North
Korea: "There's a global appetite for any North Korea story and the more salacious the better. Some of it
is probably true but a great deal of it is probably not...the normal standards of journalism are thrown
out of the window because the attitude is: 'it's North Korea no one knows what's going on in there.'"[11]
Jean Lee, the former Associated Press Pyongyang bureau chief commented that "when it comes to North
Korea, the more horrible, the more salacious, the more entertaining, the more it fits into the narrative as
the North Koreans being these insane outliers", the more likely it is to be published.[36] Author and
retired British diplomat James Hoare wrote "The main emphasis in British [media] coverage of North
Korea is on the odd and the peculiar."[37]
According to Chad O'Carroll of NK News, these stories have a tendency to go "viral". They are very
attractive to online news organizations because they lure traffic to their websites. They also spread
rapidly. A hoax, a mistranslation, or a line of cautious commentary can escalate into a global media
sensation.[38]
The Washington Post's Max Fisher has written that, in regard to North Korea, "almost any story is treated
as broadly credible, no matter how outlandish or thinly sourced." Fisher quoted Isaac Stone Fish of
Foreign Policy joking that "as an American journalist you can write almost anything you want about
North Korea and people will just accept it".[39] Isaac Stone Fish himself admitted to painting a picture of
North Korea in the grip of a drug epidemic with very little hard evidence to back it up.[5][12]:107
The standards of fact-checking are so lax that journalists regularly report parodies as genuine stories.[40]
In June 2016, South Korea's financial markets were shaken by reports of the death of North Korean
leader Kim Jong-un, which originated from a parody news website.[41]
The research director of NK News believes that the overused stereotypical labels applied to North Korea
like "Hermit Kingdom", "secretive" and "unpredictable" make for "catchy headlines and are an easy
sell." [42] This, combined with limitations on reporting in the country, runs the risk of many stories
become little more than repetitions of known clichs.[13] The media portrayal of North Korea has been
described as a "cartoon caricature".[26][43]
Some defectors have commented that the news from North Korea is sometimes ridiculously different
from the country that they lived in.[44] Several visitors have reported that the North Korea that they
experienced was worlds way from the barren landscapes, starving people, and goose-stepping troops
portrayed in the media.[12]:5966[45][46]

Examples of unreliable reports

[ edit ]

Hyon Song-wol [ edit ]

Hyon Song-wol is a North Korean singer. On 29 August 2013, The Chosun Ilbo reported that she was
executed by firing squad, together with eleven other performers, including members of the Unhasu
Orchestra and Wangjaesan Light Music Band, on the orders of North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.[47] The
story was reported worldwide. It was claimed she was Kim Jong-un's ex-girlfriend, and that she and the
others had made pornographic videos.[48][49][50]
North Korea's KCNA denied claims that the singer was executed, and a Japanese news magazine
reported that she was seen subsequently.[11] On 16 May 2014, Hyon appeared on North Korean
television participating in the National Convention of Artists, disproving the rumors.[51][52][53]
Death of Kim Chol [ edit ]
Kim Chol was a Vice Minister of Defense who was allegedly purged and executed by a mortar round for
"drinking and carousing" during the period of mourning for Kim Jong-il. The story, originally reported by
the Chosun Ilbo, was picked up by the world's media.[54][55] However, subsequent analysis by Foreign
Policy determined the claims most likely originated from gossip,[56] and NK News observed the story
"demonstrates how a single anonymous source can generate a story in the South Korean press, which
then gets escalated into all-caps certainties for fine news outlets such as the Daily Mail."[57]
Death of Jang Sung-taek

[ edit ]

Following the 2013 arrest of DPRK official Jang Sung-taek on charges of

corruption, international media reported he had been eaten alive by a pack
of ravenous dogs on the orders of Kim Jong-un.[58][59] After the reports
began to gain traction, Trevor Powell, a Chicago-based software engineer,
discovered the story had originated from the blog of a Chinese
satirist.[60][61] In the wake of the revelation, some media retracted their
original stories.
Discovery of unicorns [ edit ]
In 2012, a number of international media outlets reported that North Korea
Despite stories from
international news outlets
that North Korean media
claim Kim Jong-il once shot
five holes-in-one in golf,
informal surveys of
Pyongyang residents have
yet to discover anyone who
has heard such a report.

had claimed to have discovered evidence of unicorns.[62][63] In reporting on

the purported announcement, U.S. News and World Report somberly
declared it to be "the latest in a series of myths trumpeted by North Korean
news sources." [64] Subsequent analysis of the original DPRK statement,
however, showed that the announcement involved the archaeological
discovery of the "unicorn lair," or kiringul, a poetic term for an
archaeological site associated with the ancient capital of King Dongmyeong
of Goguryeo, and that neither North Korean academics nor media had ever
claimed the literal existence of unicorns.[65]

Kim Jong-il's golf score

[ edit ]

Over several years, many international news outlets have reported that North Korean media claimed
that Kim Jong-il shot five holes in one his first time playing golf, or achieved some other improbable
score.[66][67][68] The implication of the story is that the North Korean government attributes supernatural
feats to its leaders as part of a cult of personality. Despite the wide propagation of the story, no North
Korea media source for the report has ever been produced. NK News reports that "informal surveys of
North Koreans themselves revealed that no one in Pyongyang was aware of this legendary feat, unless
told it by a tourist."[57] Richard Seers, a British journalist who played at the Pyongyang Golf Club, asked
officials there, who indicated it was nothing more than an urban myth.[69] The Korea Times has traced
the story to Australian journalist Eric Ellis, who heard the tall story from the club professional at
Pyongyang Golf Club in 1994.[70]
How Americans Live [ edit ]
In 2013, a short film titled How Americans Live was widely disseminated on the Internet. The film
showed images, supposedly of the United States, with a stilted English narration making over-the-top
claims about various depredations experienced in American society, such as people being forced to eat
snow for sustenance. Spencer Ackerman of Wired called the film a "North Korean propaganda video"
while the Washington Post, in its analysis, declared the video's message to be "consistent with North
Korean propaganda". It was subsequently revealed the film was a satirical video created by British travel
writer Alun Hill and not, as reported, a North Korean "propaganda video".[71]

Mourning for Kim Jong-il

[ edit ]

Following the death of Kim Jong-il, many media reported on scenes

broadcast by North Korean press that showed North Korean citizens
crying hysterically. Writing in the New Yorker Philip Gourevitch
declared the grieving was obviously fake and indicative of the
"madness of the Kims' grim dominion over North Korea," while Bill
O'Reilly stated that mourners had been "paid in hamburgers."[72]
Writing on CNN, John Sifton of Human Rights Watch claimed North

of Korean Confucian culture and can regularly be seen in South Korea

Wired deleted an article by

Spencer Ackerman, shown here,
after it was discovered what he
claimed to be a "North Korean
propaganda video" was actually a
satire film produced by a British

as well. [74] In fact, during the funeral procession for South Korean

travel writer.[71]

Koreans were required by the DPRK government to cry and their

"only alternative is to flee."[73] However, wild expressions of grief including extreme sobbing and fist pounding - are an accepted part

president Park Chung Hee, thousands of South Korean women were

pictured "screaming, wailing and shaking their fists at heaven."[75] Korea expert B.R. Myers has observed
that sadness expressed by North Koreans on learning of the passing of Kim Jong-il was probably
"genuine."[76]
Distribution of Mein Kampf [ edit ]
In June 2013, Washington Post blogger Max Fisher reported claims by New Focus International, a website
run by North Korean defectors, that Kim Jong-un had distributed copies of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf to
other members of the North Korean government.[77] This made the Post the first major media outlet to
repeat those rumors, which had been spreading among North Korean defectors in China.[78] In response,
scholars Andrei Lankov and Fyodor Tertitskiy pointed out that the story was extremely unlikely: the
Soviet influence on history textbooks in North Korea and the fact that Nazi Germany was allied with the
Japanese Empire (which had colonized Korea) meant that North Koreans deplored Nazi Germany, and
indeed the North Korean state media itself sometimes compared South Korean or American leaders to
Hitler. [78][79]
Lankov suggested that the eagerness with which media outlets accepted the story pointed to a
"simplistic view of the world" in which "the bad guys are also united and share a bad, repressive
ideology", while Tertitskiy condemned the rumors as distracting attention from serious news reporting
and detracting from its credibility. Both Lankov and Tertitskiy described the rumor as an example of
Godwin's law.[78][79] Fisher himself would later criticize U.S. media outlets for their "high degree of
gullibility" in reporting on North Korea.[39]
Legal marijuana [ edit ]
Main article: Cannabis in North Korea
In the 2010s, a number of media reports, many re-cycling the same few sources available, stated that
cannabis was widely used as a drug in North Korea, and legal there. However, a reply by journalist
Keegan Hamilton in a 2014 article in The Guardian sought to debunk these as rumors. He cited Matthew
Reichel of the Pyongyang Project who notes that ipdambae is actually an mixture of herbs and tobacco,
superficially resembling cannabis but unrelated. Cannabis is cultivated industrially, but in the form of
low-THC hemp, and while some people may cultivate personal amounts of psychoactive cannabis, its
use is not condoned, though it is also unlikely to be punished severely.[80]

See also

[ edit ]

Atrocity propaganda
Chojoongdong
Media of North Korea

North Korea portal

Media portal

North Korean studies

References

[ edit ]

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Further reading

[ edit ]

Pons, Philippe (2016). Core du Nord: un Etat-gurilla en mutation[North Korea: a mutating guerillaState] (in French). Paris: Gallimard. ISBN 9782070142491.

Categories: Media bias controversies Journalism ethics

Media in North
Korea
Media in South Korea

Journalistic
hoaxes

Propaganda legends

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