Balloon propaganda campaigns in Korea include both North and South Korean propaganda leaflet campaigns, with the use of balloons as a distribution method since the Korean War. It is a form of psychological warfare. A variety of other contents have also been included with the balloons. Originally, these campaigns were organized by the governments and militaries of the Korean states. Contemporarily, however, they are mainly organized by South Korean non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that regularly involve themselves in balloon release events that aim to send materials censored in North Korea (including pornography and Christian materials), as well as various other goods, to the North Korean people.
The main motivations of the South Korean balloon campaigns have been a desire to support democratization and to incite a regime change in North Korea. However, the effectiveness of such leaflet campaigning has been debated. Furthermore, the balloon drops may have worsened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and the launches have also been met with increasing opposition from the South Korean society. The North Korean state has targeted propaganda to South Korean soldiers in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in retaliation against Southern propaganda campaigns.
The official stance of both the South and North Korean governments has been against the continuing balloon drops. However, the South Korean government has been hesitant to intervene in the launches by activists due to concerns about freedom of expression. However, some actions by officials, like banning the use of boats in balloon launches, have greatly reduced the amount of leaflets flying into North Korea. In recent years, there have been few cases of official leaflet droppings by either state. However, government organized psychological warfare between the Korean states largely disappeared in the aftermath of the Sunshine Policy, regardless of renewed tensions since.
In December 2020, South Korean parliament passed a law criminalizing the launching of propaganda leaflets, whether in balloons or in bottles, into North Korea. Proponents argue that the legislation will improve relations with North Korea while opponents have raised concerns related to freedom of speech and human rights. In September 2023, the law was struck down by South Korea's Constitutional Court.
History
The origins of propaganda campaign competitions on the Korean Peninsula can be traced back to the Korean War, when the United Nations forces shelled Chinese and North Koreans with an estimated total of 2.5 billion leaflets. A historical study has estimated that the amount of leaflets was so great that it would have been enough to cover the whole peninsula under a layer 35 leaflets thick. In comparison, North Koreans only spread 30 million leaflets during the war. The Korean balloons can also be compared with the German situation during the Cold War with (wall sailors) sending balloons with goods over the Berlin Wall.
Balloon drops were organized by the South Korean state until the beginning of the Sunshine Policy under the Kim Dae-jung administration. Both Koreas halted psychological warfare for the duration of 2004–2010; in addition to balloons, this prohibited radio broadcasts, billboards and loudspeakers on the DMZ. The North Korean state had originally demanded that as a precondition for the first Inter-Korean summit in 2000, and the request was later accepted by the Kim Dae-jung administration. After the Yeonpyeong incident in 2010, balloon drops were organized by the defense ministry in late 2010 for some time, but they have since been suspended again after having lasted for a year.
There have been a few instances of similar balloon propaganda campaigns launched by North Korea to South Korea; however, campaigns on the Korean Peninsula primarily target North Korea. There was a balloon release by North Korea in July 2012 as a response to an official South Korean military leaflet campaign in the aftermath of the Yeonpyeong incident.
In 2010, there was public support for a hard line against North Korea during increased tensions, but the support declined by 2011. A poll in late 2014 revealed that recent developments had turned many in South Korea against leaflet campaigns: 58 percent of respondents were against the balloon launches.
In May 2018, both Koreas made a commitment to end the balloon propaganda campaign and an attempt made by North Korean defectors to continue the campaign was sabotaged by the South Korean government.
On 4 June 2020, Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong issued a long statement calling the balloon-senders "human scum" and "mongrel dogs". The statement called the South Korean government "owners of the mongrel dogs" and stated the government should be held accountable for the balloons. Kim Yo Jong threatened to withdraw from a no-hostility pact as well as from joint ventures. South Korea stated within hours that it was planning legislation against the "tension-causing" balloons. A BBC correspondent stated the rapid compliance "is not a good look (for South Korea)... Most defectors have endured incredible hardship to win the right to free speech." On 9 June, North Korea cut all ties to the South, citing the balloon issue. On 10 June, South Korea stated it would press charges, using a law governing inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation, against two South Korean activist groups for sending unauthorized materials to the North.
On 16 June 2020 North Korea demolished the Inter-Korean Liaison Office in Kaesong. The office established in 2018 to facilitate communication between the two Koreas had been closed since January 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its destruction followed several days of threats from North Korea over the South Korean government's failure to prevent defectors and activists from sending anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border. North Korea had cut official communication lines with South Korea a week earlier.
On 14 December 2020, South Korea's National Assembly passed a law that penalizes the sending of anti-North Korean material across the DMZ. Proponents of the legislation argued that it is intended to avoid unnecessary provoking North Korea, to ensure the safety of those living along the border, and to secure stable relations with North Korea. However, opponents have argued that the legislation sympathizes with or yields to North Korean threats over the balloon campaigns. The amendment to the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act had been protested by several human rights groups in South Korea, such as Amnesty International. It has also received criticism from several individuals and groups outside Korea.
On 28 May 2024, North Korea sent 260 balloons containing feces and garbage into South Korea, apparently in retaliation for Northern defectors into South Korea sending balloons into North Korea containing anti-North Korean sentiments.
In June 2024, the unification ministry of South Korea reported it was considering meeting with a North Korean defectors' group that launched anti-North Korean leaflets across the border. South Korea resumed loudspeaker broadcasts for the first time in six years, but paused to prevent escalation amid rising tensions. The ministry reported it would not officially ask the defectors' group to stop leaflet campaigns, citing a Constitutional Court ruling that deemed such bans unconstitutional. However, police may intervene if the operations pose a serious threat to border residents.
Balloon contents
The South Korean propaganda during the Korean War, through its extensive leafletting involving 2.5 billion leaflets, was also intended to display the capitalist world's ability to outproduce its communist rivals. A study by I. H. Lee found that bias against North Koreans in the South Korean society was prefigured in the visual forms of United Nations propaganda during the Korean War. In comparison, North Korean propaganda during the war largely mirrored contemporary Soviet propaganda.
Jin-Heon Jung claims there has been little change in the contents and aims of South Korean leaflets themselves since the transition from military launches to civilian launches. Historically, there have been some oversights in cultural sensitivities in leaflets, such as in translation from South Korean orthography to North Korean orthography. For instance, North Koreans did not understand words like or , as they are written in North Korea as Wengari and Rossiya, respectively. The leaflets include a mix of scandals, information and enticements. Some of the leaflets include proselytism for born again Evangelicalism, or Gospels from the Bible. One leaflet reportedly juxtaposed Kim Il Sung with Jesus in its message, saying: "Believe Jesus Christ instead of Kim Il Sung". During the Cold War, the propaganda competition evolved to resemble a struggle between the two relatively new influences in Korea: communism and Christianity. High-ranking defector Hwang Jang-yop's actions have also been featured in the leaflets.
Balloon drops by the South Korean government historically included—in addition to the propaganda leaflets—sweets, lighters, tobacco and pornography. Today, the contents launched by non-governmental organizations include various kinds of media and other goods and essentials. They have sent, for example, U.S. dollars, instant noodles, booklets, nylon stockings and high quality socks, friendly letters, radios, as well as DVDs, USB sticks and SD cards with banned media content, such as copies of the Korean Wikipedia. Choco pies have also been included, as they have become prized and valuable items to barter with. After the Sony Pictures Entertainment hacking incident, many activists sent copies of The Interview to North Korea. Some of these movies sent to North Korea have been cut by the activists with the most offensive parts removed. Some of the leaflets launched today are made of light, water-proof polyvinyl.
Contemporary leaflets dropped by the North Korean government have relatively simple contents, and are reminiscent of propaganda used by the North. The leaflets include various slogans. In 2016 some balloons were filled with trash in addition of propaganda leaflets. Leaflets from the past decades had more varied contents.
South Korean organizations involved
Recent organizations involved with the balloon campaigns include North Korean defectors' organizations, South Korean evangelical Protestants and conservatives, various organizations of other Christian denominations and United States based organizations. In the participating North Korean defectors' organizations, ex-military members are over-represented. Women constitute up to 70 percent of North Korean defectors; however, it is mainly men from relatively elite or military background who lead the balloon campaigns. The defectors' organizations are the most active ones; the two main organizations for flying leaflets to North Korea are Fighters for a Free North Korea and North Korean Christian Association.
Fighters for a Free North Korea, Campaign for Helping North Koreans in Direct Way, North Korean Christian Association and North Korean People's Liberation Front are among the active balloon releasing defectors' groups. However, Park Sang-hak claims that, unlike other defector groups, Fighters for a Free North Korea does not receive funding from the government—they have a couple of hundred supporters who donate five to ten U.S. dollars a month. Some of the defector activists, like the North Korean People's Liberation Front, have contacts across the Chinese border area, and smuggle media across the rivers to North Korea.