DIRECTIONS: Below are two paired articles. In the first article, “Excerpt from ‘North Korean
Censorship,’” Jessica Jarreat provides background on North Korea’s relationship with media.
The second article, “Life Inside the North Korean Bubble,” is about one reporter’s firsthand
experience in North Korea in 2010. Read both articles to understand the role of media in this
Asian country.
Excerpt from “North Korean Censorship”
by Jessica Jarreat
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In the past week, North Korea has allowed some Western journalists into the country to report on
its military parade, and government officials have given a handful of rare interviews to
international media outlets including The Associated Press, BBC, and Al-Jazeera as tensions
escalated with the United States.
But this brief flurry of engagement should not be misinterpreted: North Korea remains one of the
most heavily censored countries in the world. Supreme leader Kim Jong Un retains an absolute
grip on the flow of public information. All media is state-owned, with the official Central Korean
News Agency serving as a government mouthpiece, and the regime metes out harsh punishments
for anyone accused of accessing uncensored information or sharing news from countries that it
considers its enemies. Its own journalists remain strident propagandists, and advances in
technology that could open up channels to independent news are fought with ever-stricter
censorship and surveillance measures. critical iea in 35 word length wirtten as a 9th grADER