Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
South Korean civic group launches online broadcast aimed at NK
Officials of Korea Internet Studio (KIS), a Seoul-based internet broadcasting network aimed at delivering information to North Korea, pose during its launch ceremony at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, Tuesday. Among them are Jung Sung-jin, front row seventh from left, the network's inaugural chairman, and Lee Young-hyeon, front row eighth from left, head of KIS. Korea Times photo by Lee Hyo-jin
By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea Internet Studio seeks to fill gap after suspension of state-run broadcasts
A new internet-based broadcast was launched on Tuesday to deliver uncensored information to North Koreans, as civic groups intensify efforts to connect citizens of the isolated regime with the outside world.
The Korea Internet Studio (KIS), a Seoul-based internet broadcasting network, was created in response to what organizers called a growing "information vacuum" following the suspension of South Korean government-led broadcasts targeting North Korea earlier this year.
"Information is the single most powerful force for change, and truth always finds a way," Jung Sung-jin, the network's inaugural chairman, said during a launch ceremony at the Korea Press Center in downtown Seoul.
"Our mission is clear: to act as an information missionary linking North Korea to the wider world. Our broadcasts will serve as the oxygen that sustains and revitalizes North Korean society."
Organizers said the new platform seeks to fill the gap left after the South Korean National Intelligence Service ended its decades-old propaganda transmissions to the North in July. The unprecedented decision to halt radio broadcasts carrying news and cultural programs came as the liberal Lee Jae Myung administration seeks rapprochement with Pyongyang.
Such information campaigns have long infuriated the Kim Jong-un regime, which views them as a threat to its control over the people, fearing that they could inspire defections.
Across the Pacific, U.S.-based broadcasts toward the North such as Voice of America and Radio Free Asia were also scaled back following an executive order signed in March that led to major budget cuts to the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
North Koreans take part in a farmers’ union meeting in South Hwanghae Province, Sunday, in this photo released Tuesday by the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap
Former Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo hailed the KIS launch.
"The launch of KIS is not simply a replacement for what was halted. It is an act of restoring what should never have been stopped," Hong said in his keynote speech. "It will serve as a seed that connects lives and truths that have been cut off, and help build a brighter future.”
According to KIS officials, the new platform will go beyond traditional one-way propaganda broadcasts, as it enables two-way information sharing through digital channels.
Using artificial intelligence and other digital tools, the network aims to produce content that resonates with younger generations inside North Korea. What also sets KIS apart from previous information campaigns, organizers explained, is its focus on expanding outreach to North Koreans living overseas.
The studio plans to circulate its programs on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter), as well as on Chinese and Russian social media platforms.
Upon its launch, the studio also sent promotional posters to North Korean embassies and consulates in more than 40 countries to raise awareness of its activities among overseas North Korean diplomats.
Yet officials acknowledged that access could prove challenging if governments in China and Russia — both known for exercising tight control over information shared on domestic apps — move to restrict KIS channels on these platforms.
"If the Chinese government blocks our content, there's little we can do," said Lee Young-hyeon, head of KIS. "But we will explore every possible platform to reach North Koreans scattered across more than 40 countries. Even if we are blocked on China's Douyin or Kuaishou platforms, we’ll find other ways to keep our content flowing."