Learning from Josef Stalin, North Korean founding leader Kim Il Sung knew early on that it was essential for Pyongyang to take complete control of the emerging post-war North Korea information environment.
Radios and TV were built or adapted to only receive official state-run stations, and it wasn't long before print publications were leading forces behind an emerging Kim Il Sung idolization campaign.And at the same time the possession of foreign, especially Korean, newspapers and magazines would become a serious crime.
Learning from Josef Stalin, North Korean founding leader Kim Il Sung knew early on that it was essential for Pyongyang to take complete control of the emerging post-war North Korea information environment.
Radios and TV were built or adapted to only receive official state-run stations, and it wasn't long before print publications were leading forces behind an emerging Kim Il Sung idolization campaign.And at the same time the possession of foreign, especially Korean, newspapers and magazines would become a serious crime.
Chad O'Carroll is the founder of NK News/NK Pro and related holding company Korea Risk Group. In addition to being the group's CEO, O'Carroll is a frequent writer and commentator about the Koreas, having written about the two nations since 2010. He has visited the DPRK multiple times, worked and lived in Washington, D.C. with a focus on peninsula issues, and lived in the ROK since 2016.