K-POP at the Forefront of North Korea’s Information Warfare: From USB Smuggling to Social Influence

K-POP music plays through large speakers in areas along the inter-Korean border. This is not merely music; it is part of an information warfare campaign targeting North Korean citizens. When South Korea attempts to deliver external information to North Korea, K-POP serves as one of the most effective tools. Although North and South Korea are effectively still in a state of war, the current battles are “information wars” without gunfire. The South broadcasts K-POP and provocative messages through border speakers, while the North Korean regime tries to counter this with military propaganda music. This represents a direct challenge to Kim Jong-un’s regime, which seeks to control its citizens by blocking external information. K-POP music and South Korean dramas are classified as low-risk content and are smuggled across the border thousands of times per month in USB drives and micro SD cards. A South Korean nonprofit organization called Unification Media Group (UMG) selects the latest K-POP music and dramas to smuggle into North Korea. Contents such as Jennie’s hit songs and Netflix dramas reach North Korean residents. What appears to be harmless South Korean dramas and K-POP music has a profound impact on North Koreans. The high-rise apartments, fast cars, and luxury restaurants depicted in the dramas show them a life of freedom while simultaneously exposing just how behind the times North Korea is. This directly contradicts Kim Jong-un’s main lie that “South Koreans are poor and oppressed.” Lee Gwang-baek, head of UMG, said, “Some people cried while watching the dramas and thought about their dreams for the first time in their lives.” Recent testimonies from defectors illustrate the real-world influence of K-POP and external content. Park Seok-gil, head of Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), stated, “Most recent defectors and refugees say that external content was the reason they decided to risk their lives and escape.” Kang Gyu-ri, a 24-year-old defector, testified that watching foreign TV programs was the direct catalyst for her decision to flee. Although there are no political dissidents or well-known anti-regime figures in North Korea and protests are extremely dangerous, external content such as K-POP and dramas is inspiring courage for individual resistance. However, the future of South Korea-led information warfare is uncertain. This is because Kim Jong-un’s regime not only cracks down harshly on those who possess external content but also faces a severe blow to its funding due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s cuts to foreign aid. How long this soft power strategy of smuggling K-POP and dramas can continue, and whether it can lead to changes in the mindset of North Korean citizens, has now become a critical turning point in the inter-Korean information war.