North Korea’s ideology and propaganda: Signs of change

Abstract

This article explores the evolution of the DPRK’s ideology and propaganda and the channels of their transmission during Kim Jong-un’s rule. The authors highlight several distinguishing features/markers of new trends in the DPRK’s current ideology and propaganda. The study indicates that the demand for change is related with both changes in Kim Jong-un’s governance style and the current realities, such as North Koreans’ growing knowledge about the outside world and external information pressures. The most significant trends in North Korea’s ideology today are: departure from the term sŏngun; the use of the umbrella term ‘ideas of Kim Il-sung-Kim Jong-Il’; lower level of Kim Jong-un’s personality cult in contrast to that of the previous two leaders; an attempt to delineate a watershed between purely metaphorical descriptions and qualities of the leaders and their real abilities; growing attention to domestic problems and greater openness in the discussion of pressing issues; new methods of propaganda (including social networks) addressed to the foreign audience.