Here’s an interesting question: What do North Koreans, who risk Kim Jong-il’s wrath by watching South Korean TV, think about the mass protests against American beef that have been taking place in the South for the past two months?
According to this article from the Daily North Korea, a publication staffed in part by North Korean defectors, a letter recently received from someone who works in North Korea doing missionary work writes that the protests are triggering ‘sorrow.’
“”When we see the South Korean people protesting the resumption of U.S. beef imports rather than showing a sense of pride as citizens of a powerful and rich nation, we felt sorrow. The North Korean people are eating grass porridge to survive. … We don’t understand what the South Korean people are protesting. Why make such a fuss? …”
By Jung Kwon Ho
July 7, 2008
South Korea – The Daily North Korea – Original Article (English)
Dandong, China: On July 2 at a restaurant in Dandong of China’s Liaoning Province, the Daily NK was handed a letter from a man doing missionary work for the North Korean people. The letter explains what the North Korean people think of the candlelight protests being held in South Korea, which have been going on for over two months now.
The person who handed in the letter said, “People in North Korea watch South Korean television. Since South Korean TV reports on [the vigils] every day, it seems that people in the North have begun to wonder what’s going on. The man who wrote the letter said that he was very concerned with the situation in South Korea. I told him that he should write a letter about what he thinks of the candlelight rallies and that I would give it to a reporter. So the man wrote this letter two days ago.”
The man who wrote the letter came to China early last month with a travel permit. When he left North Korea in June, the candlelight protests were in full swing, and they continue to this day.
In many parts of North Korea, people can watch South Korean TV. Those who live in Pyongyang and in the surrounding Daedong River area, places neighboring Hwanghae Province and the West Sea (in the south and west) also get a good signal from KBS (South Korea Public Broadcasting). Most people get South Korean news about by watching KBS.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing Korean coverage of the controversy over American beef.
Founder and Managing Editor of Worldmeets.US