Television in North Korea
According to the BBC News article "North Korea country profile," the Democratic People's Republic of Korea only has two television stations, which is down from four as reported by the CIA in 2009. The channels are the Korean Central TV, which is run by the Korean Worker's party, and Mansudae TV, which is a cultural station (Profile). The channels, as stated by the same article, are a constant source of propaganda.
Conversely, a staple of dystopias is that there are usually little to no independent broadcasters, thus leaving the government free to spread its propaganda and censor anti-government sentiment. One such case was point out by Judy Aita in her America.gov publication "North Korea Tops Media Censorship List." The article pointed out that as North Korean was becoming engulfed in famine during the 1990's (and still is), the media failed to report on it (Aita). This then shows the reality of such a dystopian state in which the few existing news outlets are under control of the state itself, resulting in no opposition nor any alternate ideologies.
Conversely, a staple of dystopias is that there are usually little to no independent broadcasters, thus leaving the government free to spread its propaganda and censor anti-government sentiment. One such case was point out by Judy Aita in her America.gov publication "North Korea Tops Media Censorship List." The article pointed out that as North Korean was becoming engulfed in famine during the 1990's (and still is), the media failed to report on it (Aita). This then shows the reality of such a dystopian state in which the few existing news outlets are under control of the state itself, resulting in no opposition nor any alternate ideologies.
Thankfully, however, there is a source of possible outside information. Those that live close to either China or South Korea are sometimes able to pick up foreign broadcasts. This minuscule trickle of information is not a lot, but it is something. Unfortunately the penalty for viewing outside broadcasts is severe, though, it is currently believed that South Korean films are circulating throughout North Korea, but this is only speculation (Profile).
