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| A scene from TV drama "Reply 1988" on tvN. |
By Ko Dong-hwan
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BBC World Service plans to expand its service in the biggest move since the 1940s, offering news in 12 more languages ― including Korean ― with 1,400 additional staff and a state fund of 289 million euros.
But the North Korean embassy in London has told the BBC "in no uncertain terms" that Pyongyang does not want any such service, according to the Guardian.
BBC World Service director Francesca Unsworth said she expected the North Korean government to oppose the service.
She said the service fitted with the BBC's mission "to bring independent news to people most in need" and North Korea was "the country most in need, followed by Ethiopia and Eritrea."
She also said it was "terrible" for North Koreans that their only information source was "that woman who goes on North Korean television every night."
The BBC will launch the half-hour daily service in the middle of night so people can "listen under their bedclothes without telling the neighbors."
A dedicated team will operate the service, with half the staff based in London and the other half in Seoul. At least one member will have a North Korean background.
The new service follows research by Korean state broadcaster KBS showing that one- third of North Korean defectors claimed to have had access to foreign broadcasters.
Other studies also showed that young North Koreans were less interested in the Kim Jong-un regime and more interested in foreign media.
Unsworth said she had told the North Korean embassy in London that the service was "not dissident radio," but that it would be "on the side of people, not that of the government."
The BBC says it is concerned that international media space is falling more and more into the hands of people who disapprove of the values of independence and impartiality; for example, the Russian and Chinese governments clampdown on media freedom using state mouthpieces such as Russia Today, or Chinese news providers in Africa.
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