Propaganda in South Korea
Methods of propaganda dissemination involve means of modern media to include television, radio, cinema, print, and the internet.
[2] The South Korean government enacted legislation against “anti-national” activities in 1948 and firmly establishing an anti-communist ideology with the National Security Act.
South Korean propaganda exploited the fact that the north launched the unprovoked invasion and often stalled negotiations for a ceasefire.
The purpose behind employing this form was primarily based on facilitating wide-scale distribution and spread, the documents being easy to produce and replicate, being broadly inexpensive, as well as being capable of conveying a variety of information via textual and graphical means.
Furthermore, from a functional standpoint, it’s worth noting that this ppira based form of propaganda effectively represented an additional frontier of battle/warfare in the Korean War: that of psychological persuasion and attacking.
At a broad level, this involved promoting certain ideals or qualities among populaces both domestically and abroad, as well as discouraging and discrediting those of opposing forces.
Strategic leaflets aimed at breaking the opposition’s will to fight via catalyzing resentment, suspicion, and demoralization among enemy forces (e.g., soldiers and their skeptical relationships to leading/commanding forces); tactical leaflets aimed assisting military operations via some psychological impact (e.g., urging surrender, informing/intimidating enemy troops of incoming attacks, etc.
Figure 2 represents a strategic leaflet produced and disseminated by the United States in conjunction with the South Korean government during the latter years of the war.
Likewise, the color and tone of the piece are relatively dull, dreary, and muted, highlighting the rough and brutal circumstances that the individuals had to endure as a result of the war.
This is clearly visualized through the United Nations and member countries surrounding the “Communist Aggressors” or “War Makers” in providing protection for the “Republic of Korea” as per figures in the photo.
From a formal element perspective, the space and composition of the piece is condensed and unified towards the center, directly highlighting the collaborative/joint-international effort of the pro-capitalists against the invasive communist regime.
In essence, it’s clear that the Korean War represented a particularly prominent arena for propaganda pieces of various functionalities (e.g., strategic, tactical, consolidation), particularly predominating via leaflets known as ppira.
This involved ideologies such as communism and capitalism as well as across a variety of perspectives both domestically and internationally, and was particularly relevant for propaganda in South Korea.
The challenges of the economic theme was revealing the growing quality of life in the south to the North Korean people and subvert the Kim Il-Sung regime.
[17] The propaganda rivalry using the theme of South Korean prosperity versus the failed ideology of the north manifests itself today.
The United States remains a key ally to South Korea and keeps a military presence to deter a second Korean War.
[22] Younger generations of South Koreans without memory of the war or poverty in its aftermath look upon the US role and continued military presence unfavorably.
[24] This changed significantly in 2010 after a series of attacks by North Korea including the sinking of the South Korean navy frigate, ROKS Cheonan.
Propaganda broadcasts resumed after the election of the hardline president Lee Myung-bak in 2008 and increased after violent attacks by North Korea in 2010.
[28] Sensitivity about the Dokdo island dispute is also a common propaganda theme covered in South Korean print media.
