South Korea‘s media regulator announced on Monday that it has banned access to a North Korean propaganda music video that portrays leader Kim Jong Un as a “friendly father” and “great leader.” The decision aligns with South Korea’s National Security Act, which blocks access to North Korean government websites and media to prevent exposure to the North’s efforts to “praise, incite, or propagate” its activities.
The ban followed a review requested by intelligence authorities to determine if the video breached the law, according to Seoul’s Korea Communications Standards Commission. “The video is typical content linked to psychological warfare against South Korea, as it was posted on a channel operated to connect with the outside world and mainly focused on unilaterally idolising and glorifying Kim,” the regulator stated.
Despite its ban in South Korea, the video has become an unlikely social media hit worldwide, going viral on platforms like TikTok. Pyongyang’s state media frequently features exaggerated displays of loyalty by citizens to bolster the leaders’ power and create a personality cult around them.
Titled “Friendly Father,” the clip, released last month by North Korea’s state television, shows North Koreans, from soldiers to school children, exuberantly singing lines such as: “Let’s sing, Kim Jong Un the great leader” and “Let’s brag about Kim Jong Un, a friendly father.”
Last year, South Korea’s regulator also blocked access to some North Korean propaganda YouTube channels at the request of the spy agency. The two Koreas remain technically at war since an armistice ended the 1950-1953 Korean War without a peace treaty.
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