South Korea

Las emisiones no llegan muy lejos, pero si alcanzan los oídos del personal militar de la DMZ (zona desmilitarizada) y la ciudad de Kaesong. El gobierno surcoreano intenta que la música distraiga a los soldados y también les transmite noticias alternativas (a las que difunde el régimen). Pero a largo plazo, esta táctica pierde efectividad porque la gente se acostumbra a ella.

Between expats, migrant workers, military personnel, and foreign brides, 1.5 million people—or 3 percent of Korea’s population—are foreign-born. That’s expected to grow to 10 percent by 2030, which is on par with European societies today. This is a huge social change for a society that has been homogeneous in so many ways for hundreds and hundreds of years. [Koreans are taught that they come from a] thousand years of ‘pure’ ancestral bloodlines, common language, customs, and history.

[Following a bailout from the International Monetary Fund during the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, South Koreans] took it personally that the foreign West was intent on basically putting down this country that had become an economic miracle in such a short period of time.

At the same time, the country’s citizens were growing visibly resentful of the presence of the U.S. military in the country. It had to do with complaints about U.S. troops and their conduct off-base where Koreans live. During that time, even in Seoul, there were signs, that said, 'Americans not welcome.' So there was this very outward demonstration of this political discontent. I think for restaurants to put up signs that say, ‘No foreigners,' etcetera, there is a precedent for that from these other time periods.

The kind of economic renovation the North Korean regime is doing is not going to lead to an open market or fundamental economic restructuring. They are interested in learning modern skills, but the goal is to sustain the regime politically. Economic development — that is the term they prefer, not reform — is to serve the maintenance of the regime.