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Brilio.net/en - North Korea is one of the few countries today that still practices communism. Day in and day out, Kim Jong-un's leadership is being fully embraced by mass propaganda. As a result, the nation's people are fixated on a specific set of ideologies that keeps them stranded in a bubble of limitations. For example, the nation was informed that they had won the world cup in 2014 when they didnt even play! Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) in New York, aims to break the bubble and expose the people of North Korea to the outside world in a rather fascinating way- by smuggling 20,000 flash drives!
Image viapublisherline.com
Flash Drives for Freedom is what this mission is called. Believe it or not, the HRF is seeking the participation of people from all over the world. They've opened their doors to receiving flash drive donations and have established a partnership with a start-up company based in Silicon Valley. After collecting the flash drives, they are then responsible in cleaning and shipping them to specified North Korean defectors. That's where the information is stored before being smuggled into the country. Such information can be accessed on affordable PCs called notels.
So what kind of information is being targeted in this case? It's got nothing to do with the Hollywood media as you'd expect. Instead, it will be focused on 'films, South Korean soap operas, Korean-language entries from Wikipedia and photos' because 'its digital contraband means a lot to people raised on government propaganda'. Oh and guess what: they're going to be smuggled into the country either by foot or by balloons!
Balloons? Really? Yes! Here's how it works: Some of the civil society groups that we (HRF) work with basically put trash bags together with leaflets and USB sticks and DVDs, and they attach them to hydrogen balloons. And when the wind is blowing north they float them into North Korea. This tactic goes back to divided Germany."
Balloons containing leaflets, dollar notes, radios, CDs etc. are released to North Korea/theatlantic.com
In fact, some activists have proven its success in the past when they smuggled in the 2014 movie The Interview, in which the North Korean leader was the limelight.They had placed a propaganda advertisement at the beginning of the file to disguise authorities who may attempt (or have attempted) to play the flash drive! That being said, the foot transportation, which passes through the China border, is still the priority due to its far greater probability of reaching end users.
So what are you waiting for? Get your hands on the USBs you don't need, send them over to the HRF and let the citizens of North Korea taste freedom. After all, you may very well grant them the opportunity to see the world from a whole new window!
(brl/red)
