Even the rigid regime of North Korea changes slowly with the times .... take weather forecasts.
Since TV started in 1963 in North Korea it has been very rigid in both its content and style ('Educational' programs and high praise for the regimes leaders is the basic fare), and this includes the weather forecasts.
These were usually presented by a woman reading from a script with a static display behind her . There maybe a reason why none of this changed for so long, and that is that there is no competition.
Even with the proximity of China, South Korea and Japan, it is not a problem, because all North Korean TV's sold in North Korea, are only able to operate on the PAL system, which prevents them from being able to pick up broadcasts from the South and other neighbours which operate on the NTSC system. Even imported TV sets, that are able to operate on both PAL and NTSC, have their NTSC abilities disabled by the government on import.
But while changes are glacial, they occur, and in something of a presenting style revolution the weather presenter has moved from behind the desk and to the front .....
This seems to be part of an attempt to revamp the news and other content on TV, because although foreign TV is effectively blocked (satellite dishes are prohibited), there is an ever increasing trickle of foreign content entering the country via USB sticks and memory cards, and a lot of that is foreign movies and South Korean television shows.
All this foreign content eventually spells the end for the regime (although not quickly), because it highlights the poverty of the lives of the North Korean people. But spare a thought for the female weather presenter, who fluffed her lines during the first of the new broadcasts ..... mistakes are not usually tolerated in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
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| The Traditional North Korea Weather Report ..... |
Since TV started in 1963 in North Korea it has been very rigid in both its content and style ('Educational' programs and high praise for the regimes leaders is the basic fare), and this includes the weather forecasts.
These were usually presented by a woman reading from a script with a static display behind her . There maybe a reason why none of this changed for so long, and that is that there is no competition.
Even with the proximity of China, South Korea and Japan, it is not a problem, because all North Korean TV's sold in North Korea, are only able to operate on the PAL system, which prevents them from being able to pick up broadcasts from the South and other neighbours which operate on the NTSC system. Even imported TV sets, that are able to operate on both PAL and NTSC, have their NTSC abilities disabled by the government on import.
But while changes are glacial, they occur, and in something of a presenting style revolution the weather presenter has moved from behind the desk and to the front .....
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| New North Korean Weather Style |
This seems to be part of an attempt to revamp the news and other content on TV, because although foreign TV is effectively blocked (satellite dishes are prohibited), there is an ever increasing trickle of foreign content entering the country via USB sticks and memory cards, and a lot of that is foreign movies and South Korean television shows.
All this foreign content eventually spells the end for the regime (although not quickly), because it highlights the poverty of the lives of the North Korean people. But spare a thought for the female weather presenter, who fluffed her lines during the first of the new broadcasts ..... mistakes are not usually tolerated in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Has anyone seen the weather girl since?
ReplyDeleteSorry I don't know how to answer that question. I should imagine she's still there. Thanks for the comment.
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