North Korea uses youtubers to show the world the image of a “normal” country

The young woman rummages through a fridge full of popsicles, pulling out several to show the camera. “This is milk flavor – the picture is so cute,” she says in English, pointing to the packaging with a smile. “And this is peach flavor.”

After finally choosing an ice cream cone, she bites into it, declaring, “The cookie tastes so good.”

The four-minute video has amassed over 41,000 views on YouTube, but this is no ordinary vlog. The woman, who calls herself YuMi, lives in North Korea, perhaps the most isolated and secretive nation in the world.

His YouTube channel, created last June, is one of several social media accounts that have popped up on the internet over the past year or two where North Korean residents claim to share their everyday lives.

But experts say all is not what it seems in these videos, and that the images contain telltale signs that the lives shown are far from the norm for the millions of poor under leader Kim Jong Un’s dictatorship.

Instead, they suggest that YuMi and others like her are likely related to high-ranking officials and may be part of a propaganda campaign designed to rebrand the country internationally as a more relatable – even touristic – place than its home base. constant talk of nuclear weapons would suggest.

YuMi’s videos “look like a well-prepared play” scripted by the North Korean government, he said. Park Seong-cheol a researcher at the North Korea Human Rights Database Center.

telltale signs

For decades, North Korea was relatively isolated from the rest of the world, with strict restrictions on freedom of expression, free movement and access to information.

Its dismal human rights record has been criticized by the United Nations. Internet use is heavily restricted; even the privileged few who are allowed to use smartphones can only access a government-run and heavily censored intranet.

Foreign materials such as books and films are banned, often with severe penalties for those caught smuggling them on the black market.

That’s why YuMi – who not only has access to a recording device but also access to YouTube – is no ordinary North Korean, experts say.

“Connecting with the outside world is an impossible thing for a resident,” said Ha Seung-hee research professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University.

YuMi isn’t the only North Korean YouTuber grabbing attention: an 11-year-old girl who calls herself Song A made her YouTube debut in April 2022 and has already garnered over 20,000 subscribers.

“My favorite book is ‘Harry Potter’ written by JK Rowling,” says Song A in a video, holding the first book in the series – particularly impressive given North Korea’s typically strict rules banning foreign culture, especially from nations Westerners.

The video shows Song A speaking with a British accent and sitting in what appears to be an idyllic children’s room complete with a globe, bookshelf, a stuffed animal, a framed picture and pink curtains.

Luxuries for ‘a special class’

The pink depictions of everyday life in Pyongyang may also give a clue to their creators’ social standing and identities.

YuMi’s videos show her visiting an amusement park and an interactive movie show, fishing in a river, working out in a well-equipped indoor gym and visiting a limestone cave where young students wave the North Korean flag in the background.

Song A visits a crowded water park, a science and technology exhibition center, and films his first day back at school.

Park, the expert, says that these representations are not 100% false, but they are extremely misleading and do not represent normal life.

There are reports of North Korea’s wealthy elite, such as high-ranking government officials and their families, having access to luxuries like air conditioning, scooters and coffee. And the facilities shown in the YouTube videos exist, but they are not accessible to most people and are only granted to “special people in a special class,” Park said.

Those facilities are also likely not open or operating regularly, as the videos indicate, he said. “For example, North Korea’s power supply is not good enough to operate an amusement park, so I heard that they would only operate it on weekends or on a special day like when they shoot a video,” Park added. .

North Korea is known for frequent blackouts and electricity shortages; only about 26% of the population has access to electricity, according to 2019 estimates from the CIA World Factbook. These blackouts were captured in nighttime satellite images in 2011 and 2014, which showed North Korea shrouded in darkness, almost blending into the dark sea around it, in sharp contrast to the dazzling lights of neighboring China and South Korea.

The YouTubers’ fluency in English and access to rare luxuries suggest they are highly educated and likely related to high-ranking officials, Park said.

The defectors previously told the CNN that some North Koreans learn British English in their English classes. The British Council, a UK-based organization, also ran an English teacher training program in North Korea, sending teachers there for over a dozen years before it was discontinued in 2017.

A new style of advertising

North Korean propaganda is not new; previous campaigns have featured Soviet-style posters, videos of marching troops and missile tests, and images of Kim Jong Un on a white horse.

But experts say YouTube videos and similar North Korean social media accounts on Chinese platforms like Weibo and Bilibili illustrate a new strategy: relatability.

“North Korea is trying hard to emphasize that Pyongyang is an ‘ordinary city,'” Park said, adding that the leadership “is very interested in how the outside world sees them.”

Ha, the research professor, said North Korea may be trying to portray itself as a “safe country” to encourage more tourism for its battered economy, especially after the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

While it has yet to reopen its borders to tourists, “the pandemic will end at some point and North Korea has been focusing on tourism for economic purposes,” Ha said.

Before the pandemic, there were few options for tours in which visitors were led around the country by guides from the Ministry of Tourism. The tours are carefully choreographed, designed to show the country in its best light. Even so, many countries, including the United States, warn their citizens against visiting.

After the pandemic began, “there was talk (in North Korea) about abandoning previous forms of propaganda and implementing new forms,” ​​Ha said. “After Kim Jong Un ordered (authorities) to be more creative in their propaganda, vlogs started appearing on YouTube.”

A 2019 article in North Korea’s state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun, quoting Kim, declared that the country’s propaganda and news outlets should “boldly discard the old structure of writing and editing with established conventions and conventional methods”.

YouTubers’ use of English may reflect this effort to reach global viewers. Both YuMi and Song A also include English names for their channels: YuMi also goes by “Olivia Natasha” and Song A by “Sally Parks”.

Why YouTube?

North Korea has posted other types of propaganda on YouTube over the past decade – although its official videos are often taken down by moderators.

In 2017, YouTube took down North Korean state news channel Uriminzokkiri and Tonpomail channel controlled by ethnic Koreans in Japan loyal to Pyongyang, saying they violated the platform’s terms of service and community guidelines.

Another YouTube channel called Echo of Truth, allegedly run by a North Korean resident named Un A, who filmed herself enjoying daily activities in Pyongyang, was shut down in late 2020.

But the closures provoked an outcry from some researchers who said the videos provided valuable insight into North Korea and its leadership, even if they were propaganda.

When to CNN asked YouTube for comment on these deleted channels and those of Song A and YuMi, a spokesperson said the platform “complies with all applicable sanctions and trade compliance laws – including with respect to content created and uploaded by restricted entities.”

“If we find that an account violates our Terms of Service or Community Guidelines, we disable it,” the note said.

Experts said YuMi and Song A’s videos could be Pyongyang’s attempt to reach an audience without attracting the attention of moderators.

And as scripted as they were, they also offered a valuable window into the country, experts said.

“People already know that (the videos) were created for propaganda purposes […] the public is already aware,” said Ha. But, she added, “I think there should be proper education and discussion about how we should perceive (such) content, rather than just shutting doors.”