Korean Central Television have started broadcasting in high-definition but it’s unlikely to rejuvenate the ideological scheduling, says NK News

A grandmother in a rural part of North Korea was given a television from her grandson who worked in an urban area. The wooden box was truly astonishing: she could watch people on its screen and listen to songs, she could even go sightseeing in Pyongyang without needing a travel permit from the authorities.

Within a short time, the wooden box became a wonder of the town, but its popularity didn’t last long. People soon lost interest in the box because the content was so repetitive. What was wrong with it? After some consideration, she wrote a letter to her grandson:

Dear Son, we’ve finished with the television you sent. So please buy another one and send it to us.

This is a joke allegedly told by the chairman of the Korean Central Broadcasting Committee at a meeting with his colleagues in 1994. He was making the point that even party propaganda should be interesting to be truly effective, says defector and activist Jang Jin-sung a former worker of North Korea’s propaganda arm.

But the chairman’s hint at an overhaul of the propaganda machine didn’t take off. Less than a week later, Jang says, Kim Jong-il issued a new directive on TV production. Since the faces of his personal guards were exposed on state media news, Kim decreed that Korean Central Television (KCTV) replace 80% of its broadcast with music in a bid to evade enemy surveillance.

Kim Jong-il decreed that KCTV replace 80% of its broadcast with music to evade enemy surveillance

All of a sudden KCTV had turned into the North Korean version of MTV. Struggling to keep things interesting, producers and writers of the committee came up with programs like ‘Musical Expedition’, ‘Musical Essay’, ‘Classic Exposition’, ‘Music and Poetry’, and ‘Classics and Great Men.’



A day’s news

Today the channel usually starts at around 3pm with reports of the leader’s recent movements. There are re-runs of several documentaries and films, and regular news broadcasts three times a day at 5pm, 8pm, and 10pm which don’t usually last longer than 20 minutes.

In a KCTV news show recently uploaded to YouTube the presenter starts by reading from newspapers around the world commemorating Kim Jong-il’s birthday – as long as it’s about the great leader, it’s news.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A news show on KCTV

The presenter goes on to harshly criticise South Korea for suppressing its people and reports what’s going on with ‘friendly’ countries like Iran. The channel then devotes the last eight minutes – out of a total 18 – of its broadcast to reading state newspapers like Rodong Sinmun.



The broadcast was part of a series of videos recently uploaded to YouTube – including some videos now being streamed in high-definition (HD). Martyn Williams from website North Korea Tech credits the new-look footage to Chinese equipment given a few years ago. He told NK News that he thinks North Korea are hoping to expand the HD service nationwide – if they haven’t done so already.

But even with better resolution on offer – and less music broadcast than under former leader Kim Jong-il – the propaganda messaging behind the programmes remains largely unchanged.

Constitutional entertainment

North Korea’s constitution dictates that the Republic should nurture its “socialist culture”, meeting the worker’s demand for “sound” emotion to ensure that all citizens can be builders of socialism.



“Every drama for television and radio has to be ratified by the highest authority, even in its initial planning stage,” said former KCTV writer Jang Hae-sung in a video for the South Korean Institute for Unification Education.

The prevalent values in North Korean dramas are loyalty to the leader, economic awareness and self-rehabilitation, he adds.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jwawoomyong, meaning The Motto

Jwawoomyong (The Motto), a North Korean drama recently run by KCTV, mirrors those values. In one episode a father agonises that he has failed the party after his construction project falls apart, but is restored by the memory of his endless devotion to the party.

Today’s music shows are also entangled in the web of ideology, like Yochong Mudae (Stages By Request), for example, which was aired on 15 February, a day before Kim Jong-il’s birthday.

The featured songs – People’s Single-Minded Devotion, The Anthem of Belief and Will, and Let’s Protect Socialism – are clear propaganda. A music request show, the audience are asked to describe to camera how inspiring these songs are to them.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Yochong Mudae, meaning Stages By Request

“The belief that is the strongest/ the will that is the firmest/ is yours, the great iron man Kim Jong-il/ you are strong/ so strong that you always win,” go the lyrics of The Anthem of Belief and Will.



Ideology and propaganda is also a mainstay for TV dramas. A Day in Exercise, which was aired on KCTV last Wednesday, tells a story of a young military officer who dares to break custom for the sake of effectiveness in battle.



His actions make his platoon soldiers miserable. In one scene he deliberately tampers with his soldiers’ rifles right before shooting practice to ensure they check their rifles at all times.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A Day in Exercise, meaning the TV drama

But when the young platoon leader suffers injuries during battle, he regains his strength by looking at the latest copy of state newspaper the Rodong Sinmun, featuring the supreme leader’s face on the front page.

Enhanced programming?

With little diversity on North Korean TV and extensive repetition – schedules show that a majority of the movies are re-runs – perhaps it’s not surprising that South Korean dramas are so popular among ordinary North Koreans, despite harsh penalties if they are caught.

But it’s unlikely that we’ll see any significant changes in the North Korean broadcasts any time soon: “there are certain limitations in what the North Korean broadcasting system can express, even though it might be following recent technological trends,” says Lee Ju-chul, researcher at the South Korean national broadcasting system KBS.



“Throughout the decades there has been little change in the contents [of North Korean television] and there will be little chance for a revolution in TV if there’s no revolution in North Korean politics first,” he said.