This English translation is an abridged and edited version of Soo-Am Kim et al., A Study on the Access to Information of the North Korean People (Seoul: Korea Institute for National Unification, December 2020). The analysis, comments, and opinions presented in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Korea Institute for National Unification.
Introduction
Purpose of the Study
As a result, the dynamics of the conflict between the interests of the people and the regime have inevitably changed. Given these changes in citizens' access to external information, there is a need for a comprehensive analysis of both the methods of access to external information by the people and the action and reaction caused by the conflict of interest of the people and the North's regime Korea. Korea. This study aims to provide a comprehensive and systematic assessment of the processes and characteristics associated with access to information by the people of North Korea.
Model of the Research
Global Protection of Freedom of Information and
Access to Information Guaranteed by International Laws on
Treaty-based UN bodies, international courts and international organizations have all recognized the right of access to information based on freedom of expression articles. Recently, interest in the relationship between the realization of economic and social rights and the right of access to information has steadily increased. The list of rights that include the right to access information in major human rights treaties, such as freedom of expression.
The North Korean Legal System on Access to Information
The North Korean People’s Access to Information and
Collection of Information: Routes and Types
Third, the people of North Korea gain access to external information through various applications on mobile phones. The regime selectively provides external information that contributes to the leisure and education of the people of North Korea, and through this, North Korean citizens share with the outside world the cultural aspects of contemporary popular culture both intellectually and emotionally, albeit in a limited way. Cooperation between North Korean officials who regulate external information and the people who conduct economic activity within and through the loopholes of restrictions imposed by the state results in the importation of external information.
Through secret agreements with members of the border guard, external information gathered through this route is distributed to close acquaintances. The people of North Korea prefer to borrow or borrow outside information among close acquaintances to read or view in the relative safety of their homes, rather than buying it on the open market. It has definitely and substantially expanded the extent to which the North Korean people gather outside information.
In other words, offenders must attend public disclosure events where the people of North Korea gather to learn what types of outside information the offenders were in possession of and what their punishment is. 24 A study on the North Korean people's access to information... effect of indirect advertising of external information. Parents of children in their school years are mainly interested in external information containing educational content.
The North Korean regime actively uses external information as material to educate world-class students, while the people of North Korea likewise use external information provided by the state to prevail in the fierce competition to enter good schools.
Interpretation and Storage of Information
Comparisons of the realities at home and abroad develop into a realization of the structural contradiction that exists in North Korea where civility is demanded but cannot be achieved. Case no. 6 testified that the behavior of the South Korean people depicted in dramas seemed more polite and moral than the etiquette morality taught in North Korea. Third, citizens of North Korea try to take in the external information provided by the regime, in reverse of the original intention.
North Korean people accept the language of the regime at face value, but at the same time try to discover inherent paradoxes and interpret the information provided by the regime from the opposite perspective. For example, North Korean media reported how the people of South Korea held candlelight protests and demanded the removal of the president through videos, photos and statements of the people's demands in great detail. 28 A study on the access to information of the North Korean people .. candlelight protest in cold weather amid hardships to restore the rights of the people, instead revealed the power of the citizens who were able to remove and imprison sitting president.
Interviewee #1 discovered contradictions in North Korean society by illegally acquiring and learning from books from the Grand People's Study Hall that contained outside information. The interviewee believed that the outside world's perception that all North Koreans only think as they are taught by the regime was unfair. Although they live in a closed society with little access to information, and although the state decides and dictates how they should live, the thoughts of the North Korean people cannot be contained because the people of North Korea still retain the ability to think.
Second, there are North Koreans who have access to external information by storing information on mobile phones.
Exchange of Information: Sharing and Spreading
Third, storing external information on portable storage devices and encrypting materials on them was most commonly used. Portable storage devices have become much smaller in size while also being able to store much more data. Teenagers and young adults in their 20s born in the 2000s tend to be more expansive and bold in how information is shared.
According to North Korean defectors, there has been a rapid increase in teenagers and young adults in their 20s, middle and high school and college students sharing various cultural aspects together through music and movies. of South Korea since 2017. The means that have allowed the movement, dissemination and reproduction of external content among the people of North Korea have been USB drives, external hard drives and Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards or chips of the Universal Subscriber Identification Module (USIM). USIM chips are used by many North Koreans because they are easier to respond to inspections than other storage devices.
Foreign cultural content banned by the regime included that of South Korea, the US, Hong Kong, India and Japan. But now that external information is distributed through devices that are easier to own, there has been an increase in professional services that copy, edit and encrypt using storage devices. It seems that interest and the perceptions of the North Korean people regarding information communication technology have increased.
Materials or products that can be discovered during inspections are always well hidden, and it is a rule to have NoteTel and USB on which North Korean films are stored.
Transformation of Information: Value Judgment and Application
And preference for South Korean dramas, movies and other products remains one of the main reasons why they defected to South Korea at more than 40%. Now, aspects of the Korean wave such as jogging songs, idol groups, and K-pop have been established as a core culture among teenagers, and everyday culture and outdoor activities have also changed. It is believed that the culture and behavior of the younger generation in North Korea has changed rapidly, especially after 2017.
It is supposedly possible to see aspects of South Korean weddings in the wedding ceremonies, the hairstyle of the bride, the design of the outfits and wedding procedures. The influence of South Korean dramas can also be found in the fashion, etiquette and language expressions of the North Korean. Products move through predetermined routes systematized by the shops used by money class (Donju) and the Jangmadang frequented by members of high class society.
Among some members of the wealthiest classes, the use of South Korean products is so widespread that Chinese or North Korean products are never used in everyday life. Public transactions refer to power-related transactions that take place under the protection of authority. Transactions based on false information usually involve suppliers misleading consumers about the origin of products.
38 A Study on Access to Information of the North Korean People .. produced here are not sold publicly in markets, but in major cities such as Pyongyang, Pyongsong and Sinuju through regular wholesalers.
Responses to Access to Information: Action and Reaction
Ways to Improve Access to Information of the North
Given North Korea's policy of controlling external information and its subsequent violations of other aspects of freedom related to access to information, international cooperation should be continuously pursued based on UN human rights mechanisms to bring about changes in the North Korean government's approach. regime. In addition, a system of international cooperation should be established that aims to gradually improve and expand access to information based on feasible revisions of the legal and institutional systems within the limits of North Korea's characteristics and reality. Given the positive impact that access to information has on strengthening social rights, such as the right to health, consultation with the North Korean regime is necessary to ensure that the people of North Korea have access to information about the aid provided granted to North Korea as these programs are implemented.
In other words, given the increase in the speed and extent of unofficial access to external information and the impact of South Korean information on the lives and culture of the North Korean people, expanding the scope of exchanges between South and North Korea can be a good thing. a more effective strategy to improve access to information than unilaterally absorbing more external information. It is also necessary to consider improved access to information for the people of North Korea as a crucial part of development cooperation. Access to information can lead to demand for participation, and the expansion of participation can in turn contribute to greater access to information.
In addition to greater access to popular culture, efforts are required to increase North Korean people's access to expert knowledge information through knowledge sharing in the development process. Greater access to expert knowledge will not only improve access to information, but will also contribute to a better quality of life for the people of North Korea. Moreover, knowledge sharing projects will not only increase access to expert knowledge, but also access to general knowledge of South Korean society as it involves interpersonal exchanges.
Aspects related to access to information can be reflected in the process of cooperation with and support of North Korea to 'Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).' to implement successfully.
