Low Tech PSYOP Works Too!

The June 12, 2020 print edition of the NY Times ran an article “Floating Propaganda Irks North Korea. The South is Not Pleased Either” (See: https://nyti.ms/3hBH0oD, which is also a photo source)

 

I have had many postings about high tech PSYOP. Cyber Influence, Social media, etc. Isn’t it great to see those ‘oldies but goodies’. The recent tension between North and South Korea has reached unprecedented high levels with North Korea destroying the office where joint talks used to take place. (see: https://bit.ly/30OD0v3.)

Over the years tens of millions of leaflets have been used by both sides to try and influence the other. The humble leaflet has quite a history on the Korean peninsula and even has its own Remembrances Museum (see: https://nyti.ms/37FWnI3, also a photo source). 

How can such old technology be effective you ask? According to the article, Mr. Kim of North Korea regarded the leaflets as a “provocation graver than gun and artillery fire”.

What makes the recent incident even more interesting is the fact that the Republic of Korea (R

OK) is also unhappy about these ‘attacks’ and will introduce legislation to ban the launches as a way of trying to appease the North.

As often happens with leaflets, the property in their path is often inundated with offending leaflets resulting in a nuisance of trash. This particular batch which was dropped on May 31 amounted to about 500,000 leaflets alone.  

Clearly the leaflet is still chugging along, doing its influence job and going where even the latest technology cannot.

As always, reader comments are invited.