북한주민의 남한 미디어 수용과‘왜곡된 남한 상(像)’

Abstract

There is an increasing interest in the inflow of South Korean mass media into North Korea. The phenomenon has some positive effects, such as North Koreans having second-hand experiences of capitalism, freedom, and democracy and narrowing the social and psychological gap from South Koreans. However, limitations with changes to North Koreans’ perceptions are inevitable even with the inflow of South Korean media, since the North Korean regime controls the information fed to its citizens and engages in education and propaganda criticism against South Korea. Furthermore, commercial media intrinsically maximizes violence and sensationalism in content, which means there is also a possibility that North Koreans’ negative perceptions of South Korea can take deep root,by being exposed to South Korean media. Thus, there should be proper reactions to the potential retailiation. When the negative aspects of South Korean society are highlighted in South Korean media, it adds to the North Koreans’ perceptions of the South Korean government and citizens molded by the education and propaganda and, their distorted perceptions of South Korea will further expand and take deeper roots. Thus, this study focuses on the “distorted images of South Korea” that North Koreans may encounter when in contact with South Korean media. By conducting in-depth interviews with North Korean defectors, the investigator analyzed the process and content of the South Korean media exposed to the North Koreans who formed a distorted image of South Korea and discussed the limitations of Korean unification due to their perceptions. The study also discussed how North Korean defectors changed their perceptions of South Korea after moving into South Korea and being exposed to “actual” situations, as well as the implications of such processes for the social and cultural union of North and South Korea.