China’s propaganda departments in the northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang are secretly implementing a strategy to spread Chinese cultural content in North Korea through an unofficial exchange project called the “program for mutual cultural development and cooperation.”
According to a Daily NK source in China recently, the project was developed between late 2023 and early 2024 as a purported cultural exchange initiative between North Korea and China. During this period, a cultural delegation from Liaoning province, led by Liu Huiyan, director of the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party’s Liaoning Provincial Committee, visited North Korea.
While China publicly frames the effort as “cultural exchange,” its actual purpose is to foster pro-Chinese sentiment and spread Chinese culture in North Korea, building a foundation for a shared identity between the two countries. “China believes there is no means of control as important as culture,” the source said. “The heart of the project is creating an ideologically and psychologically friendly environment in North Korea.”
With U.S. President Donald Trump potentially suspending support for North Korean human rights initiatives, China plans to accelerate this program.
“China sees this as a strategically important moment, with the U.S. turning away from information warfare efforts, including the suspension of radio programming into North Korea,” the source explained. “They view this as a genuine opportunity to deepen their influence over North Korea.”
The program targets a wide range of North Koreans: ordinary citizens, young people, regional officials, those with overseas experience, and border region residents. Various groups in China are also key targets, including North Korean students, trade officials, workers, trainees, and diplomatic families. This suggests a strategy to expose as many North Koreans as possible to Chinese culture.
China has developed a plan to introduce and distribute various forms of cultural content in North Korea. The strategy involves continuously feeding audiovisual materials that emphasize “socialist civilization” into North Korea, including documentaries about the founding of the People’s Republic of China, films about the anti-Japanese struggle, and contemporary dramas.
China also plans to translate content showcasing Chinese lifestyles and culture into Korean, specifically using the North Korean dialect. This approach appears designed to respect the North Korean government’s desire to preserve the “Pyongyang Cultural Language.” According to the source, “ethnic Koreans concentrated in China’s northeast are handling the translations.”
Chinese efforts to disseminate cultural content in North Korea will likely unfold discreetly. China plans to actively send Chinese-made MP5 players and Enhanced Versatile Discs to North Korea, allowing North Koreans to naturally encounter Chinese cultural content.
The Chinese authorities believe allowing North Koreans to organically accept Chinese content would be more effective than attempting to introduce it directly or forcibly.
“China does not intend to provoke North Korea by building a separate network to distribute cultural content,” the source said. “China has noticed that North Korea’s controls on Chinese cultural content have relaxed as the country harshly cracks down on South Korean content.”
In a 2024 survey by the Unification Media Group of 100 North Koreans on North Korea’s media environment and the use of foreign cultural content, 88.4 percent of respondents identified “China” as the source of the foreign cultural content they consumed.
This article first appeared in Daily NK, which contacts multiple sources inside and outside North Korea to verify information. The Diplomat was not able to verify the claims independently.
