Untold Story: The Media in China and North Korea

Abstract

The main concern of this essay is to explain the general situation of the media in China and

North Korea under the governmental control. I will try to talk about the brief media history in

these countries in order to lead up readers to come to understand the concept. I will explain

how the revolutions affected the media in China and North Korea afterwards. It would be

wise to mention what the governments have been doing so as to control the media in these

lands. I will exemplify my assertions through some striking instances such as Tibet and Hong

Kong. Eventually, I will mention the general case within the history and conclude it by giving

my own ideas about the media over there. I aim at the students who study in this area as well

as mere people pondering over the case in China and North Korea.

Keywords: China, North Korea, media, communication, government, control, revolution.

Introduction: A Brief Media Explanation of China and North Korea

North Korea and China probably are passed for the most anticipated places in the world due

to their politics as well as social structure, which are made by the revolutions and government

controls. Both countries are spectacular in terms of their unique cultures and traditions that are

completely different from the rest of the world. What we are concerned here about these two

countries is their media under the governmental control. We all know of the political stories

around this remote geography but few of us are aware of what has been going on over there in

terms of communication and media. I would like to begin this untold story with a brief media

history of North Korea and China.

China has been known one of the most resticted countries in the world due to the fact that

Communist Party, which dominates country since 1949, is the main voice of the country and

limits the mediums such as newspaper, television, radio etc speaking of media.

For 53 years, China has been run by the communist regime and opened its doors to the

external world in 1978. Since then, they have been wary of the Western world and watching

out its boom in economy and political progress carefully. Due to the economical breakthrough

which made China one of the biggest powers in the world, they have started to have a voice

and dominate the world policy beside the States and Russia as well as European countries.

The power that they obtained strengthened their internal pressure and dominance in every

field of the mere Chinese’s lives as Zhao Yuezhi in Communication in China. One of the

areas that got affected mostly was media without any doubt. During a few decades, Reporters

Without Borders pointed out China and clearly highlighted the poor and limited media

freedom in the country.^[1] It has been protecting its ranking between 170-175 among all and

does not seem to improve for good when the index examined carefully.

North Korea has been defined as the least independent country on the planet in terms of every

medium in communication as well as politics. It is at the bottom of Press Freedom index of

Reporters Without Borders and does not make any progress even once.^[2] What made North

Korea the least free and safe country in the world was obviously The Korean War in 1950-53.

It was such a milestone that two countries determined their own ways and changed their paths

sharply by all means. When South Korea traced the United States and adopted a capitalist

economy, North Korea followed Russia and China yet eventually found itself at the center of

the communist world.

That it adopted the communist regime and economy accordingly changed the Northern Korea

more than we all expected. The military took place at the heart of politics and dominated the

country by brutal force. They closed themselves to the external world and shut down all of the

doors permanently in accordance with their new policy made by Kim Jong-il and his officers.

Years passed by and changed nothing for North Korea. The regime was as powerful as it used

to be. The pressure was felt by mere citizens and in media in this land day by day. The vital

mediums were shut down by the government on account to the fact that they had damaged the

authority and caused the national unity a lot of problems.

The situation in the country even worsened by time and did not make any breakthrough after

Kim Jong-il passed away though. With the sneaky support of Russia and China, North Korea

is considered a dangerous country since they have been conducting a nuclear weapon project.

Due to the fact that the Internet is restricted and controlled by the government by all means,

the North Koreans are deprived of the facts around the world and grow to be proud of their

countries and nations by praising Kim-Jung-il all the time. That media does not speak out in

this country gives birth to several problems and aftermaths for the whole citizens that lack the

intelligence to question what is going on in their trouble land.

[...]

^[1] http://en.rsf.org/china.html

^[2] http://en.rsf.org/north-korea.html