Four of South Korea’s leading defector-run media outlets have begun jointly lobbying the government on issues of mutual interest and their first target appears to be a mediumwave (AM) radio frequency. Radio Free Chosun, Open Radio for North Korea, Daily NK and OTV have come together under the “Unification Media Group,” Daily NK reported. The four have…

 

Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office is warning visitors to North Korea that they need to “carefully consider” any recorded video that they attempt to take into the country. The warning came in an update to the FCO’s travel advice for North Korea that was made on Tuesday. “Consider carefully any films or television programmes that…

 

North Korea’s English-language broadcasting service marks its 63rd birthday on Thursday, November 6. Broadcast now under the name “Voice of Korea,” the radio station was for decades known as Radio Pyongyang. Since 1951, it’s broadcast thousands of hours of English-language programming and today remains one of the few international radio stations that still uses shortwave as…

 

Voice of Korea, North Korea’s international shortwave broadcasting station, adjusted its transmission schedule on October 26 for the winter 2014 and spring 2015 seasons. The broadcasts follow the same basic line-up each day. :00 Opening signal, station identification: “This is Voice of Korea” :01 National Anthem :03 Song of General Kim Il Sung :06 Song…

 

When the isolated country hosted dozens of reporters, athletes and minor celebrities at its International Pro-Wrestling Contest in Pyongyang at the weekend, opinions on the experience were mixed to say the least. We took a look at the coverage. #453894502 / gettyimages.com By Maeve Shearlaw, The Guardian Pyongyang is recovering from its International Pro-Wrestling Contest…

 

Earlier this month, Korean Central Television rolled out updated opening graphics for its 5pm and 8pm evening newscasts. A closer look at the programming reveals it wasn’t the only part of the newscast that was given a new look. The newspaper review, which is a staple of the early evening 5pm bulletin, also has a…

 

North Korea’s main evening news bulletin has a new look. Korean Central Television has updated the opening sequence of the 8pm evening news program for the first time since September 2012. The new graphics begin with a map of the world, zooming into the DPRK and then a wall of clips from the station’s news…

 

South Korea’s latest attempt to sway the minds of the North Korean people looks like a dud before it’s even begun. This month, the South Korean military begins regular programming on a new shortwave radio station aimed at the DPRK, but the selection of frequency, low transmitter power and aggressive jamming means few if anyone in the…

 

A “hackathon” planned for August aims to harness the technical prowess of Silicon Valley in coming up with new ways to get information safely into North Korea. “Hack North Korea” will take place in San Francisco and has been organized by The Human Rights Foundation, a New York-based group that earlier this year helped sent USB thumb…

 

The question of a BBC Korean-language service was back in the U.K. parliament last week when the House of Lords heard a motion to “take note of the role the BBC World Service and the British Council in promoting British values and interests worldwide.” While the speeches in the House of Lords weren’t focused on Korea,…