Interviews with Kim Seong Min

I think civilization is one aspect of technology. When we talk about devices like radio, television, recorders, and cameras we could refer to them as “technological civilization.”

North Korea actually started manufacturing colored TVs in the 1970s, so in terms of technological advances, these kinds of things may not be something new to North Koreans. But when we refer to the kind of outside news and information that these devices can carry, then it becomes an entirely different story.

North Korea maintains its regime by controlling the flow of information out and in. The North Korean regime has always tried to hide the fact that South Koreans are well off and affluent.

They also tell the North Korean people that they have to develop nuclear weapons to rescue the poor South Koreans. Since radio and TV started transmitting the realities of the outside world to North Koreans, it has led to meaningful change.

For example, if one leaflet [providing information about life in the outside world] flies into North Korea from the South, its impact is immense compared to 10 or 20 years ago.

This is because North Koreans have gone through economic difficulties and starvation for two decades. Also, many North Koreans have started distrusting the regime and rely more heavily on themselves.

Kim Seong Min was born in 1962. He grew up and received his education in Pyongyang, North Korea. Kim is the son of a poet and was trained as a writer. After serving ten years in the military, he worked in one of the regime’s propaganda offices. Troubled by the society in which he lived, Kim escaped to China in 1997. He eventually arrived in Seoul, South Korea in 1999, and ever since has fought for the liberation and democratization of his homeland.

In 2004, Kim established Free North Korea Radio (FNKR) to broadcast messages about freedom to those being oppressed and exploited by the regime in Pyongyang. These tireless efforts have been recognized by several international awards, including the “Prize for Press Freedom” from Reporters Without Borders and the “Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award” from the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. Recently, Kim was elected as a Representative of the Coalition to Promote the Democratization of North Korea, an alliance of North Korean defector organizations based in South Korea.

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