As North Korea’s state-run media report on the impeachment of Park Geun Hye, residents are treating the issue as a hot topic.
Of particular interest is the labeling of the event as a “victory of the people” referenced across these media platforms. A source in Ryanggang Province told Daily NK on March 16 that many locals were surprised to hear that the South Korean people succeeded in bringing down the president.
“For North Koreans,” he said, “this is unimaginable. Everything is about unwavering and absolute loyalty to the Suryong (Supreme Leader).”
North Korea is a society that demands its citizens act and think in accordance with the Suryong’s wishes, following the “Ten Principles for the Establishment of the One-Ideology System.” The ruling Korean Workers’ Party is regarded as above the law and the people, with the Suryong at its helm. The ten principles act as guidelines to rule the entire country, and those who act against the Suryong’s will are thoroughly repressed.
“People are stunned by the fact that the South Korean people have deposed the president through protests. We’d lose our lives in any attempt to counter the Suryong’s omnipotence,” he explained.
A source in North Hamgyong Province confirmed these reports, adding, “A lot of people didn’t believe it when they first heard the news of Park’s impeachment through KCTV (Korean Central Television) and Rodong Sinmun (state-run publication), and therefore asked for confirmation [via Chinese-manufactured phones] from relatives living in China or South Korea. This led to hushed conversations among the like-minded that North Korean society should change to be more like that of South Korea.”
For their part, state-run enterprises have been delivering morning lectures stating that, “the true face of rotten South Korean society has been revealed.” However, residents have largely felt otherwise, a separate source in Ryanggang Province noted, adding that, “there are a growing number of people whose interest and respect for South Korea has increased over the course of the impeachment proceedings.”
In contrast, an additional source in North Hamgyong Province pointed out that large swathes of the population are wholly disinterested in the entire matter. With rhetoric referring to Park Geun Hye as a “witch,” “national traitor,” and “cat’s paw” among other epithets, many lost interest over the course of the scandal’s development, citing the redundancy in coverage and style.
“Ordinary people who are desperate to make a living are not interested in the impeachment of the South Korean president, and the matter is mostly discussed by the more educated individuals. It’s indescribably painful to see something like this in a place with which you share a language and history, but can’t take collaborative steps towards a unified future,” the source noted.
