The latest standoff between north and South Korea, beginning on Aug. 10, saw a resurgence of propaganda-laden music. Shaming words and K-pop tunes were used by South Korea to incense the regime of Kim Jong-un, whom they held responsible for a recent land-mine incident that killed two South Korean soldiers. Girl’s Generation’s “Genie in a Bottle” was blasted over loudspeakers across the border along with epigrams calling Kim “childish” and “lacking confidence.” In retaliation, Kim Jong-un fired artillery—which, thankfully, did not breach the demilitarized zone into South Korea—and broadcasted his own propaganda.  South Korea chose this type of offense because it sends a message that traditional weapons cannot: North Korean life is dismal. However, what they had not calculated by instigating this culture war is the drastic consequence of avoiding diplomacy. Provoking Kim is concomitant with merciless violence.

According to an Aug.30 New York Times article, Kim Jong-un threatened, “Turn off the loud speakers or face all out war.” Following the ultimatum was a swift and militant response— troops were massed at the border ,artillery bombardment proceeded and pro-North propaganda was voiced. On this last front, North Korea’s technological inferiority rendered their sound system ineffectual; their propaganda did not reach any audience but their own. Still, the recent hostility marks the end of an eleven-year hiatus in loudspeaker campaigns. Yang Moo-jinn, an analyst at the University of North Korean Studies at Seoul described them as “inciting the North into boosting their ideological education and animosity toward the South. The loudspeakers may even lead to increased tension in the region.

This is not the first time such propaganda campaigns have occurred. They were popular during the Cold War and after the 1953 armistice that officially divided Korea into two countries, both times co

ntributing to great instability in the region. Today, the propaganda is used to defame North Korean lifestyle. What was once a back and forth of dissident political messages is now a culture war. Girl’s Generation song lyrics “Look at me, I’m your genie, your dream, your genie” are a prime example. To the hermeneutic state of North Korea, the eccentricities of K-pop are detestable.  The American equivalent would be blasting Lil Wayne’s “Don’t Give a F**k” outside of a church service. Despite the cultural slander, South Korea’s Ministry of Defense calls these songs a “voice of hope.” 

Such negative cultural insinuations are most offensive to North Korea’s leadership, who will do anything to protect their cloak of heroism. Kim Jong-un has ordered countless high ranking officials, including his aunt and uncle, to be assassinated just to defend his image.  

Conversely, the extreme chauvinism we continue to see today—shrines dedicated to the Kim dynasty, textbooks detailing North Korean world superiority, Kim Jong-un’s title as the “glorious general who descended from heaven”—is indicative of how successful the North Korean regime has been on this front. Such devotion is not only symbolic of government-populous relations but is also an integral part of North Korean culture. In this sense, modern South Korean pop music is an ideological attack that adds insult to injury.  

Of course, the Korean national ideology is challenged by unorthodox song lyrics. To Kim Jong-un, even the most minor of transgressions are seen as direct threats to his power. For example, in 2011 Kim ordered the Ministry of Defense, Hyon Yong Choi, to be executed by anti-aircraft missiles just for falling asleep during a meeting. It is no wonder, then, that a song could entice the leader into all-out war. Duyeon Kim, a researcher at the Carnegie Nuclear Policy Program, says of Kim Jong-un that “he is unpredictable and seems determined to show his strength to consolidate his power. This raises the possibility of miscalculation and unintended consequences whenever there is an escalation in tensions.” Though South Korea’s nonviolent dissent may seem diplomatic, this is not the case. When you are provoking a politically invincible leader like Kim Jong-un, you are poking a bear.

Regardless of South Korea’s justification for the loudspeaker attacks, the use of them is tactless. Blasting K-pop songs across the border is exactly the kind of cultural attack that distances people. Another artist highlighted on the loudspeakers, G-Dragon, told the North Koreans, “Guys go on top/ Girls get low/ Pull the trigger/ Bang/ bang /bang.” Is this the message an established democratic nation should be voicing to its enemy?  Why was this given priority over demands for human rights? South Korea’s culture war would be better served with political discussion than sexualized K-pop songs. If North Koreans found out the extent to which their government tortured and abused their own people, reprimand for human rights abuses would not go unnoticed. 

The barrage of K-pop songs played by South Korea is an irresponsible political move. It will not calm tensions in the region nor decrease armament on either side. Furthermore, this game of cat and mouse is more dangerous than ever before. Kim Jong-un has proven more extreme than his predecessors, more willing to kill and more willing to aggress nations. 

A 2014 UN report even compared North Korea to Nazi Germany. The report cited torture, prison camps, abductions, food insecurity, forced abortions and murder, among other gross human rights violations, as being unaccounted for. 

With this in mind, South Korea should act with more discretion. The reality is that Kim Jong-un is too powerful and too dangerous to be engaged.

In today’s tumultuous political arena, even small skirmishes could spell disaster. If South Korea continues to bombard the North with Korean pop music, they may escalate the conflict irrevocably. Kim Jong-un has said himself that “past records of inter-Korean relations show that confrontation between fellow countrymen leads to nothing but war.” 

Hopefully, Korea will recognize the threat of this impending calamity and stop provoking Kim Jong-un. For now, the two countries dance to their own tunes.