Why activists in South Korea are sending balloons with K-drama, K-pop to North Korea

Days after North Korea sent balloons filled with poo and trash to its neighbour, South Korea has clapped back. Activists from the South have sent balloons carrying K-pop and K-dramas on USB sticks in the direction of the North.

We explain how this cross-border exchange of balloons began, and the impact it has had on the already tense diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Cross-Border Balloon Campaigns

For years, activist groups such as the Fighters for a Free North Korea (FFNK) have been sending balloons carrying items like medicine, radios, propaganda leaflets, and pieces of South Korean news to the isolated totalitarian dictatorship.

Late last month, North Korea sent giant balloons back South. These balloons contained trash, soil, faeces, pieces of paper and plastic.

Tensions flared, but South Korean activists did not back down. Early on Thursday morning, videos captured the balloons drifting northward, some trailing large posters while others carried smaller packages. According to FFNK, the packages contained 200,000 leaflets denouncing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, 5,000 USB sticks with South Korean media content, and 2,000 one-dollar bills.

Park Sang-hak, the leader of FFNK and a defector who fled to South Korea in 2000, described the materials as “letters of truth and freedom.”

The purpose of the actions

Park’s inspiration for these balloon campaigns stems from his own experience as a young man in North Korea. In 1992, he witnessed a balloon with leaflets drop in a public square. The leaflet, which he secretly examined, contained stories about defectors and their escapes, eventually inspiring his own defection, CNN reported.

Since beginning his mission in 2006, Park has sent leaflets containing information about the Kim family, including the assassination of Kim Jong Un’s half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, as well as booklets on South Korea’s economic and political progress.

The repercussions of the balloon exchange

This exchange of provocations has exacerbated the already tense diplomatic relations between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war since their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo recently announced the full suspension of a 2018 military agreement with North Korea, allowing the resumption of front-line military activities. This agreement, forged during a brief period of reconciliation, had required both countries to cease all hostile acts at border areas, such as live firing drills and psychological warfare.

The suspension comes amid fears that North Korea might escalate its “dirty” balloon campaign. South Korea’s decision to restart propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts and military exercises is likely to provoke further reactions from Pyongyang. The North has already warned of intensifying its balloon campaign if anti-North leaflets continue to arrive.

Despite the escalating tension, South Korea has noted that the practice of sending leaflets is protected under freedom of speech. This stance is likely to further complicate diplomatic relations with North Korea, which has labelled defectors as “human scum” and vowed to respond aggressively to provocations.

The tough status quo

The balloon campaigns serve multiple purposes. For North Korean defectors like Park Sang-hak, they are a means of providing forbidden information and media to North Korean citizens, hoping to spark curiosity and dissent. For the South Korean government, these actions highlight the ongoing struggle for influence and information control on the Korean peninsula. The balloons North Korea sent in return are aimed at delivering a message to Seoul, and pushing them to stop the propaganda campaign.

The resumption of hostile activities at the border, including loudspeaker broadcasts, marks a significant step back from the de-escalation efforts of recent years. The 2018 military agreement was already strained after violations amid tensions over North Korea’s missile tests and satellite launches.

How this “balloon wars” saga ends remains to be seen.

With inputs from agencies