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For a Full Week, A Team Watched North Korean Television Programming, Trying to Understand What Really Reaches the Eyes and Ears of Citizens of the World’s Most Closed Country. The Experience Revealed a Controlled, Repetitive Universe Filled with Propaganda, Where Even Children’s Cartoons Talk About Manure and Music Serves to Praise the Supreme Leader. Next, A Dive into This Parallel World.
Television in North Korea is not just different. It seems to belong to another planet. A parallel reality where everything revolves around a single name: Kim. A team from ABC News watched and saw many strange things.
As soon as you turn on the Korean Central Television (KCTV), the viewer is confronted with the faces of the “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-il and his father Kim Il-sung, printed on a red background.
No text, no sound. Just the faces. It’s the silent warning that there, on that screen, the Kims are in charge.
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No Zapping, No Choice, No Rest
In North Korea, there is no such thing as a “TV Guide”. The programming is lean and predictable. KCTV broadcasts about seven hours a day.
The other channels, like Mansudae TV or Educational and Cultural Television, appear sporadically — and often silently — due to power outages or lack of resources.
The routine starts at 3 PM with a simple introduction of what will be shown.
Whoever is watching, however, already knows what’s coming: adoration of the Kims, socialist propaganda, selected news, children’s cartoons with manure, and patriotic songs that stick in your head.
No Competition, No Limits
There is no competition. No other channel to switch to. And with that, the content is broadcast without any concern for viewer taste.
The programming is designed for a single purpose: to strengthen the cult of personality of Kim Jong-un and keep the socialist ideology of the regime alive.
The structure of the reports follows a rigid pattern. First, praise for the supreme leader. Then, “economic” news, usually about factories or collective farms. Next, criticism of the United States and South Korea. Lastly, a patriotic song to liven up the conclusion.
A Week of Manure, Socks, and Factories
During a full week of observation, the programming revolved around manure production on farms, workers’ pride in factories, and the almost divine role of the North Korean leader.
Reports praised peasants from Anbyeon and Uiju who were already preparing tons of fertilizer for spring. The factories, such as a sock factory in Pyongyang, were described as centers of technological excellence. Any visit by Kim to these locations became headline news.
On Friday, for instance, Kim visited a medicine factory accompanied by his wife. No video images, just photos. Even so, the report took up a large part of the newscast, narrating how the leader guided the workers to seek more quality.
The United States Are the Enemy, Always
One of KCTV’s favorite themes is “American imperialism.” Every day, there is at least one direct or indirect criticism of the United States. Trump is called a “war lunatic,” the White House is accused of sabotaging peace on the Korean Peninsula, and any military exercise becomes a “catastrophic threat”.
Even the common cold becomes a propaganda weapon. On Tuesday, North Korean TV reported outbreaks in countries like the USA, Germany, and Tunisia, with an alarmist tone: “citizens of many countries lost their lives”.
The subliminal message is clear: outside of North Korea, everything is chaos. Here, everything is order, work, and happiness.
The Most Perfect Country in the World (According to Itself)
In the official narrative, North Korea is a socialist paradise. The capital Pyongyang is portrayed as modern, clean, and filled with cutting-edge schools and factories. There is no hunger, no crime, no injustice.
But the contrast with reality is striking. While the channel broadcasts supposedly modern factories, the country faces sanctions, food shortages, and a precarious healthcare system. Apparently, this does not fit into the state television script.
An Interminable Musical of Propaganda
Without commercials, the programming breaks are filled with propaganda songs. And these are not improvised songs. They are well-produced, with catchy melodies and lyrics that praise the army, the party, and, of course, the leader.
On Tuesday, for example, the music video of “Guard the Central Party with Your Life” was shown. Soldiers march proudly. The flag flutters in the background. The music repeats verses about sacrifice, honor, and loyalty to the Workers’ Party.
The lyrics appear on screen in karaoke style, allowing the viewer to sing along. And many probably do.
Animations That Teach to Obey
Even the cartoons shown to children carry political messages. They are old productions, with styles reminiscent of the 1980s, and narratives that exalt collective effort, obedience, and the importance of following the leader’s plans.
In a cartoon called “Keep in Mind”, the plot was about brushing teeth correctly. But everything enveloped in a militarized tone and with an austere aesthetic.
Another, called “The Story of the Scale Brothers”, had scales, flasks, and microscopes as characters. Their mission was to prepare the bean planting… with a lot of manure, of course. The message was clear: follow orders, work hard, and trust in central planning.
The Anchor That Looks Like a Divine Authority
The style of the news is another spectacle in itself. The presenter speaks with a firm, measured, and almost authoritarian voice. He does not read the news. He makes speeches.
On Thursday, for example, an “official statement” to South Korea lasted 15 minutes. No video, no photos. Just the presenter’s face and his monotonous voice, reading a long warning about the threat from the United States and the need to maintain North Korean sovereignty.
The most surreal part is that all this is done with absolute seriousness. There is no irony, no room for doubt. North Korean TV is a belief machine.
No Praise for the Outside. Just Disasters
Throughout the week of observation, there was not a single compliment to another country. Instead, the channel listed tragedies around the world: protests in the USA, climate disasters in Germany, outbreaks of diseases in Asia and Europe.
All of this reinforces the idea that the outside world is dangerous, unstable, and corrupt. The implicit message: be grateful for living here.
A Daily and Repetitive Brainwashing
After five days of watching KCTV programming, the true role of television in the country becomes evident: it is not to inform, it is not to entertain — it is to indoctrinate.
Even the most innocent content is used as instruments of control. Pop music is propaganda. The news is propaganda. The cartoon is propaganda. Even the weather is propaganda.
The programming hammers the same ideas in endless cycles: the Kims are heroes, socialism is the way, the world is collapsing, and only North Korea is safe.
And In The End… You Sing Along
It may seem absurd, but after a few days, even a foreigner starts to hum the songs, repeat the slogans.
It’s as if the TV creates a bubble where the logic of the regime starts to make sense — even if only for a few minutes.
This is what you see if you watch North Korean TV for a day. Now imagine living a whole life with this content.
Television in North Korea is not just a channel. It is the state itself speaking to its citizens. And it speaks loudly. Every day.
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