North Korean authorities have turned recent flooding into an opportunity for a massive propaganda campaign. Loudspeaker trucks and propaganda teams have been touring affected and unaffected regions daily, blasting praise for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and calling on people to take part in recovery efforts in the morning and evening. Accordingly, people complain of intense fatigue.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Daily NK source in North Pyongan province reported recently that loudspeaker trucks and artistic propaganda teams had been fully mobilized and are fervently engaged in agitprop activities in flood-stricken border regions along the Yalu River, swollen from recent rains, and non-stricken areas per orders from provincial, city and county party committees.
“In Sinuiju now, loudspeaker trucks roam the streets from 6 a.m. blasting propaganda about the Supreme Leader’s history of love, and the voice of the broadcasters resound twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon, calling on people to come together for recovery efforts in the flood-stricken regions,” the source said, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Artists from the North Pyongan Grand Theatre have formed several small agitprop troops engaged in daily activities at mudslide recovery sites such as railways, roads and rivers. Sinuiju Nakwon Machine Complex’s mobile artistic propaganda team has been urging support for recovery efforts with daily performances calling for the do-or-die accomplishment of the decisions of the 22nd Emergency Enlarged Meeting of the Political Bureau of the Eighth Central Committee.
People express frustration with the constant presence of loudspeaker trucks in their neighborhoods. They lament that these vehicles seem to be the only ones “having fun” in today’s environment. The incessant broadcasts, described as “sickening sounds,” plague the citizens from dawn to dusk.
Many find the timing particularly galling, as the trucks blare their messages all day while families grapple with basic needs, such as how to feed their children. Adding to their discontent, citizens claim the propagandists’ rhetoric about the “great love” and unparalleled “blessings of the Great Leader” rings hollow, leaving them bewildered and disconnected from the official narrative.
Public discontent grows amid propaganda campaign
With the North Korean authorities engrossed in propaganda activities, imploring everyone to take part in supporting recovery efforts and essentially mobilizing the entire population, public discontent is growing.
One woman living in southern Sinuiju said she, her husband and even her middle school child “have been engaged in support and mobilization efforts since the end of last month.” She said that with no rations, she lives day to day selling food, “but now I can’t even do that, making it very hard to make a living.”