Balloon campaigns in Korea

Balloon propaganda campaigns in Korea include both North and South Korean propaganda leaflet campaigns through the use of balloons as a distribution method since the Korean War. A variety of other contents have also been included with the balloons. Originally, these campaigns were organized by the governments and militaries of the Korean states. Contemporarily, however, they are mainly organized by South Korean non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that regularly involve themselves in balloon release events that aim to send materials censored in North Korea, as well as various other goods, to the North Korean people.

The main motivations of the South Korean balloon campaigns have been a desire to support democratization and to incite a regime change in North Korea. However, the effectiveness of such leaflet campaigning has been debated. Furthermore, the balloon drops may have worsened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and the launches have also been met with increasing opposition from the South Korean society. The North Korean state has shot at soldiers on the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in retaliation against Southern propaganda campaigns.

The official stance of both the South and North Korean governments has been against the continuing balloon drops. However, the South Korean government has been hesitant to intervene in the launches by activists due to concerns about freedom of expression. However, some actions by officials, like banning the use of boats in balloon launches, have greatly reduced the amount of leaflets flying into North Korea. In recent years, there have been few cases of official leaflet droppings by either state. However, government organized psychological warfare between the Korean states largely disappeared in the aftermath of the Sunshine Policy, regardless of renewed tensions since.

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