by JOHAN NYLANDER
K-pop stars get heard. G-Dragon (back left), T.O.P, Taeyang, with Seungri (front left) and Daesung. PHOTO/Wikimedia Commons
A dark underbelly of trade exists that is fuelling an underground cultural revolution across the Korean border
Just weeks – or even days – after a popular song or new episode of a TV show has been released in South Korea, it will be enjoyed across the border in the homes of North Koreans, too.
Smuggling of foreign culture and information, as well as portable media players, to the North is an increasingly lucrative business amid the rise of a black market for banned and politically sensitive goods.
Indeed, even on the sidewalks of the capital of Pyongyang, small street stalls can be seen selling foreign films and animations, including Disney titles such as Aladdin, Finding Nemo and Beauty and the Beast, as well as Russian and Indian productions.
A 2012 report by Intermedia, based on interviews and surveys with North Korean defectors, concluded that a “substantial numbers” of North Koreans are able to access outside media. About half of those interviewed said they had watched foreign DVDs, and some 27% said they had listened to foreign radio, such as such as South Korean state broadcaster KBS, Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, and 24% had watched foreign TV.
South Korean K-pop superstars like Park Jae-sang (a.k.a. Psy), Kwon Ji-yong (a.k.a. G-dragon) and Choi Si-won from the boy band Super Junior, or TV and and movie celebrities such as Kim Hee-sun, Lee Min-ho or Lee Young-ae, could in other words be household names among youngsters in the North.
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