Balloon propaganda campaigns in Korea

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. 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. 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 14 December 2020, South Korea's National Assembly passed a law that penalizes the sending of anti-North Korean material across the DMZ. 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 ==

manipulated by Mao and Stalin. The text on the right reads: "the landlord and his servant and the cow."|alt=A leaflet depicting Kim Il-sung towing a hammer and sickle shaped plough while Mao Zedong spanks him and Joseph Stalin watches and laughs. 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. such as copies of the Korean Wikipedia. Choco pies have also been included, as they have become prized and valuable items to barter with. 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. 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. Native South Korean NGOs involved include the National Action Campaign for Freedom and Democracy in Korea, Korean Parents League, Chogabje.com, Family Association of South Korean POWs and Abductees, Cornerstone Ministries, and various others. Suzanne Scholte from the Defense Forum Foundation is the chairwoman of the North Korea Freedom Coalition. The North Korea Freedom Coalition is among the biggest supporters of the organizations involved. Anonymous Christian donors and overseas churches are also a noteworthy source of funding. Park Sang-hak has described their motives as trying to break the information curtain and raise the people's consciousness to encourage North Koreans in overthrowing their leaders. The Human Rights Foundation stresses its beliefs on freedom of speech, self-determination, freedom of association, freedom of movement and democracy. In addition to hoping to topple the regime and agitating, the involved human rights organizations advocate causes like helping refugees, doing humanitarian work for disabled people living in North Korea, proselytizing Christianity, and various other causes. Role of Protestant Evangelicalism Protestant Evangelicalism is a common contemporary denominator for the majority of NGOs involved with the balloon drops since the drops became essentially privatized. Jung Jin-heon argues that there has been a polarization in the South Korean society since start of the Sunshine Policy: as the polarization between states decreased, the ideological and political polarization within South Korea increased. Jung notes that Evangelical church leaders have led protests against both regimes. Unlike in other Asian nations, like Japan, South Koreans did not resist Western missionaries, and as a result, Christianity became politically linked to the anti-communist movement in South Korea. The Bush administration's hard line towards North Korea and funding for anti-North organizations has also had an important impact on the formation of an international human rights movement against North Korea. There has also been competition between the two major broadcasting companies in South Korea during the Cold War in the messages sent to the North Korean people. These companies are the government-run Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) and the private Evangelical Protestant Far East Broadcasting Corporation. Jung points out that 80 percent of North Koreans arriving in South Korea identify themselves as Christians. These defectors will rely on and stay in touch with churches. Many of them assume leadership positions as activists against the North Korean regime. == Types of balloons ==

The balloons most commonly used by NGOs are unconventional transparent 12-meter long cylindrical helium- or hydrogen-filled balloons. Sturdy double-walled greenhouse plastic is used for the balloons. The balloons include propaganda messages written on the surface in Korean script. These balloons were developed to replace blimps previously used by the South Korean government, which were no longer being produced. After the balloons travel far enough across the border, a timer opens the plastic bags carried by the balloons. The balloons can travel up to 200 kilometers, and the maximum load for each balloon is 10 kilograms. Fighters for a Free North Korea spends approximately 500 U.S. dollars for each balloon launched; however, the balloons are considered a low-cost solution. Fighters for a Free North Korea has considered improving their GPS capabilities to better understand their balloons' movements. Since early 2015, helicopter drones have been used to distribute materials. == Launch sites ==

Imjingak's Imjin Pavilion grounds, the Tongil Park parking lot in the city of Paju and the island of Ganghwa on the west coast are common places for anti-North Korea activists to hold protests and launch balloons. The launches have been met with resistance from the locals living nearby. Launching balloons is not illegal, but the South Korean police sometimes intervenes. Some of the failed balloon release attempts have ended in clashes with the South Korean police and activists, such as Park Sang-hak being detained in April 2015. The climate of Korea poses a challenge for the launches, as the winds blow east for 80 percent of the year and only occasionally blow from the south to the north. Balloons sometimes end up in the sea or back to South Korea. There has been a case of the leaflets falling over Seoul due to unreliable weather. == North Korean counter-campaigns ==

In addition to using balloons as a means of delivery, North Koreans have also used rockets to send leaflets to the DMZ. Many of the retrieved Cold-War era leaflets included maps. One of the leaflets found on the DMZ included a map of Cho Dae-hum's route of defection to North Korea across the DMZ. Many North Korean leaflets during the Cold War gave instructions, in addition to maps, to help the targeted South Korean soldiers in defecting. North Korea restored its balloon leaflet campaign in July 2012 during increased peninsular tensions after the failed satellite launch attempt involving Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 earlier in April. The propaganda leaflets targeting western border areas in October 2012 praised pro-North activists and criticized the South Korean defense ministry's "anti-Pyongyang education program". This leaflet campaign occurred after South Korea resumed their own balloon leafletting campaign after the bombardment of Yeonpyeong in 2010–2011. In October 2012, a total of around 16,000–17,000 North Korean leaflets were found by patrolling South Korean soldiers. That had been, according to the South Korean defense ministry, the second time in 2012 they discovered North Korean leaflets after North Korea resumed leafletting in July. There had been a 12-year long break with North Korean leafletting. In February 2017, North Korean leaflets attacking Donald Trump were found in Seoul. In 2018, North Korea dropped leaflets promoting rapprochement with the South in the upcoming Winter Olympics. North Korea has warned its citizens that the goods carried by the balloons from South Korea are poisoned, but the North Korean people have been known to ignore these warnings. Due to their size, the balloons are easy to track. Defector and Korean Peninsula International Peace Organization spokesman Lee Ju-Seong stated in 2012 that one good pair of South Korean socks can be sold for enough corn to feed a child for two months. Activists have accused some of the anti-balloon drop protesters of being paid counter-protesters supported and organized by the North Korean state. However, there is genuine opposition against the launches in the wider South Korean society, beyond the locals near the launch sites. Initially, the balloons were believed to contain propaganda leaflets. However, further investigation revealed that balloons were filled with trash, including household waste, organic waste like fertilizer, batteries, cigarette butts, and even soil with parasites. Some also included Hello Kitty prints and worn apparel with release mechanisms designed to scatter debris mid-flight. North Korea stated that the balloons were launched in response to a campaign by North Korean defectors and activists in South Korea, who regularly send anti-Pyongyang leaflets, food, medicine, money, and USB sticks with Korean cultural content across the border. The South Korean unification ministry had suggested that the contents inside may reflect the struggles amongst North Korean society. Several trash-filled balloons have landed near the Seoul metropolitan area, with some remaining intact while others scattered debris across the ground, prompting public safety and health concerns, particularly regarding parasites. South Korean citizens have been advised not to touch the balloons due to the risk of contamination and to report any sightings to local authorities. In response, South Korea's military issued warnings, stating that "stern military measures" would be taken if the balloon launches "cross the line" or endanger South Korean residents. However, the military refrained from shooting down the balloons, citing safety concerns over the spread of waste and potential environmental hazards from the debris. == Government positions ==

North Korean government The North Korean government routinely threatens people involved in the balloon drops. The Secretariat of the Committee for Peaceful Reunification, Rodong Sinmun and the National Defense Commission have repeatedly condemned the South Korean government's policy on North Korea. The state of North Korea holds the government of South Korea responsible for the balloon drops, and has demanded for harder actions against the activists. North Korea has also threatened military action. On 1 December 2012, the Secretariat issued a statement demanding then presidential candidate Park Geun-hye to terminate president Lee Myung-bak's policy and to fulfill her presidential election pledge. The Secretariat of the Committee for Peaceful Reunification warned that provokers will be held fully accountable and that the relations of the two states would be again pushed to a catastrophe in the event that the launch would be allowed to happen. Rodong Sinmun stated in October 2014 that the South Korean government's tolerance of the balloon launches is comparable to an act of war. A senior official from the Unification Ministry spoke anonymously and remarked that previously they tried to stop the balloon releases, but since the Cheonan sinking, they have left the matter to the local police to solve, who intervene if there is a threat of violence. On 14 December 2020, the South Korean congress passed a law banning the launch of propaganda leaflets into North Korea. In the past, this had usually been carried with balloons and in bottles on the border rivers. According to the Agreement on the Implementation of the Historic Panmunjom Declaration in the Military Domain, hot air balloons cannot travel within 25 km of the DMZ. == Effectiveness and outcomes ==

(pictured) with their balloons. Multiple organizations involved in the campaigns are in competition with each other as they try to acquire financing for their actions. Ideological differences and different motivations between secular and Christian activists have also caused mutual resentment. The Christian organizations have also had their motives questioned. The Christian activists have been accused of being more interested in proselytizing than actually saving people. For instance, a balloon landing on the roof of a farmer's house could bring trouble to the family. Furthermore, Christian literature is an especially dangerous material to have in North Korea. Korean American missionary Douglas Shin has said that Christians have picked up a banner to help North Koreans, and that "some people don't like using the word crusade, but that's exactly what this is—a crusade to liberate North Korea". In comparison, South Korean people are known to mostly ignore North Korean leaflets. Professor Lee Jung-hoon from Yonsei University is not convinced that an organization such as North Korean People's Liberation Front is able to truly destabilize the North Korean regime, whatever methods they used, as they would have challenges trying to infiltrate North Korean society and posing as an alternative to the regime. Professor Lee Woo-young of the University of North Korean Studies questions how it would be possible to demand North Korea to stop its hostile actions, as sending leaflets across the border is a violation of the Inter-Korean Basic Agreement from 1992. In the Inter-Korean Basic Agreement, both governments agreed to stop hostile actions against each other. Suzanne Scholte of the Defense Forum Foundation, an organization working mainly for Sub-Saharan self-determination and North Korean human rights, has called the balloons "nuclear missile[s] of truth and hope for North Korean people". Director John Feffer from Foreign Policy in Focus argues that the activists should learn from the Polish 'self-limiting revolution' (the Second Solidarity) in 1988–1989, as pushing one's own government too hard can be harmful to the cause. He criticizes the activists for making maximalist claims about the smuggled information, and for refusing to compromise, as they try to reach their goals. Feffer considers the activists' actions to be harmful because they put human lives in danger, harm inter-Korean dialogue and harm the democratic legitimacy of the South Korean state. However, the launching of balloons has provoked North Korea to threaten activists by warning that it would shell the areas with balloon launches. In October 2014, the North Korean border guards' attempt to shoot down some of the balloons led to a firefight due to North Korean shots landing near a South Korean military base and a residential area. A North Korean spy was arrested in 2011 and accused of trying to assassinate balloon campaign activist Park Sang-hak. In 2014, a North Korean agent posing as a defector was arrested for reportedly attempting to assassinate Choi Jung-hoon, another activist involved in the balloon drops and the commander of the North Korean People's Liberation Front. Jin-Heon Jung points out that the DMZ has become more militarized in recent years. The balloons may contribute to a decay of the remaining cooperation between the Korean governments; activists have been blamed of eagerly trying to destroy any cooperation between the governments. == See also ==