Broadcasting is a mirror of times. Additionally, broadcasting used as a tool of psychological warfare in a divided country reflects the two sides' relationship, their unification policies and global trends. The purpose of this dissertation is to illum...
Broadcasting is a mirror of times. Additionally, broadcasting used as a tool of psychological warfare in a divided country reflects the two sides' relationship, their unification policies and global trends. The purpose of this dissertation is to illuminate changes in the identity and programming of Korean Global Network, a Seoul-based radio station targeting North Korea. This study has utilized a range of books, documents and other materials on Seoul's North Korea broadcasting for the theoretical understanding of its functions, identity and role as a tool of psychological warfare.
South Korea established a radio station for the exclusive purpose of broadcasting toward North Korea after its founding following the nation's liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945. The radio service was used as a tool for psychological warfare during the Korean War, and its function intensified during the period of the Cold War confrontation as a tool for similar purposes. In July 1961 under the military government of Park Chung-hee that made anticommunism its top national policy agenda, the status of the North Korea broadcasting service was upgraded. As such, it was allowed to use channels that were exclusively allotted for Seoul International Broadcasting Station, the overseas service of South Korea's state-run broadcaster. The broadcasting toward North Korea in those days had a dual purpose: it was primarily intended for North Koreans but was also used as a tool for anticommunist education for a South Korean audience.
The station’s name was changed from ‘Voice of Free Korea’ to Radio Liberty and underwent a shift in identity in the reconciliatory period of the 1970s marked by the July 4 South-North Joint Communique. The changing atmosphere was reflected in programs aired in this period that included <To Korean Brethren in Sakhalin>(1972), <To Korean Brethren in Northeastern China>(1973) which targeted ethnic Koreans living in Russia and China, and programs for families separated by the Korean War. These programs were unique and had no precedent in other divided countries. Radio Liberty in this period established its identity as the voice for the Korean nation. However, following the 1976 Axe Murder Incident at the truce village of Panmunjeom, programming shifted to harsh criticism of North Korea as demonstrated through programs such as <Judging Traitors of the People> and <Workers' Party Headquarters>, which divulged the private lives of the North Korean power elite. The proportion of anti-North Korean programs during this period soared to 73 percent of all programming. That reflected heightened tension between the two Koreas and indicated the potential for another war on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea’s broadcasting directed toward North Korea in the late 1970s was a typical tool of psychological warfare aimed at asserting the supremacy of the South over its northern neighbor in an escalation of the Cold War confrontation.
The North Korea broadcasting underwent yet another change in the 1980s when it moved its focus from one marked by harsh criticism to one aimed at persuasion in an apparent sign of Seoul's confidence gained after the successful hosting of the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. The programming changed drastically during this period. It was highlighted by news and features about reform and openness in China, initiated by then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, and the pro-democracy and labor movement in Poland in 1980. The programs urged North Korea to follow the path of reform and openness like its main ally China. Reform and openness in the North was a mid- and long-term goal of Radio Liberty from around 1978 when the former Chinese leader placed China on a path to reform and openness. The period saw another low point in inter-Korean relations marked by acts of terrorism by North Korea such as the 1983 Rangoon bombing which decimated the South Korean leadership and the 1987 bombing of a South Korean airliner. Under these circumstances, South Korea wanted the North to move toward reform and openness as Seoul hoped to maintain stability and security in preparation for its hosting of the Asian Games and the Summer Olympics. The North Korea broadcasting service during the period of inter-Korean detente was a voice of freedom aimed at bolstering national security.
Interest in inter-Korean unification heightened during the post-Cold War era of the 1990s with the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the signing of the South-North Basic Agreement, and the establishment of South Korea-China diplomatic ties. However, inter-Korean relations soured following the 1993 crisis over North Korea's nuclear weapons program and the 1994 death of former North Korean President Kim Il-sung. During this period Radio Liberty strengthened news and economic programs like Germany's DLF. In addition, programs on human rights were added, befitting its role as a voice of freedom, the nation and unification.
During the period of reconciliation following the June 15, 2000 South-North Joint Declaration, Radio Liberty reduced in size and its identity changed. Accordingly, denunciation and criticism of North Korea diminished. It was revitalized after being renamed to Global Korean Network in 2007. The radio service is now at a critical juncture at which it must reestablish its identity to respond to the changing inter-Korean relations and global environment.