The North Korean regime is advocating collectivism but shows increasing individualism are slowly penetrating homes in Pyeongyang as the new Korean wave.
In data from the Ministry of Unification’s research that collected responses from 6,350 North Korean defectors between 2010 and 2020, 73 percent own CDs/DVDs and 83.3 percent have watched South Korean, Chinese, or American television programs or movies.
Findings further show there is a high preference for foreign culture, with many North Koreans particularly admiring South Korean dramas and expressing a strong desire to learn more about the outside world (73.1 percent).
“In the 1980s, South Korean music spread among a small number of North Korean youths. In the 1990s, students who studied abroad in socialist countries in the northeastern region began secretly spreading South Korean movies and dramas,” an official from the National Institute for Unification Education said.
With the introduction of permanent markets in the 2000s, CDs containing South Korean television dramas, movies and music were illegally copied and sold on the black market. Today, 16- and 32-gigabyte USB flash drives containing South Korean television dramas, movies and political information are widely circulated.
The data states older generations in North Korea prefer South Korean television dramas and movies, while younger generations enjoy K-pop.
Watching K-dramas has even influenced how people address each other in North Korea. Couples are now using terms of endearment such as “oppa” (older brother to a female) and “jagi” (honey). This prompted the North Korean government to ban said term for non-familial relationships.
This shift has resulted in 59.6 percent expressing negative views on Kim Jong Un’s leadership and 56.3 percent criticizing the hereditary power succession.
In response, North Korean authorities have implemented stricter measures including severe punishments under the 2020 Reactionary Thought and Culture Act, which can include five to 15 years of ideological re-education and even public executions.
The approach to unification education differed during the Cold War and post-Cold War periods. During the Cold War, unification education prioritized liberal democracy and security. In the post-Cold War era, it emphasized reconciliation, and the administration of Yoon Suk Yeol focuses on values such as freedom, human rights and peaceful unification.
Educational programs are broadly categorized into internal education, external education, cyber education and experiential learning at the Center for Unified Korean Future. Education is provided to elementary/middle/high schools, universities and through outreach programs, educating students about unification of the Korean Peninsula.
After a decline during the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of defectors has been increasing again since 2023. In 2019, 2,914 defectors entered South Korea, the highest number on record. The lowest number was in 2021, with only 63 defectors. In the first half of 2024, 105 defectors entered South Korea.
The North Korean Defector Policy Project provides 400 hours of education over 12 weeks and a ₩10 million per person for settlement support, along with rental housing, employment incentives and educational benefits. Children of North Korean defectors can receive special admission to universities with tuition exemptions.