In solidarity with the subjugated North Korean people, a group of activists are clandestinely transmitting messages of freedom, faith, and optimism across the Yellow Sea. This act of resistance stands in stark contrast to the ban on Christmas festivities enforced by the Kim Jong Un regime.
Under the direction of chair Suzanne Scholte, the North Korean Freedom Coalition, which is based in Washington, D.C., undertakes this bold undertaking as part of their “Operation Truth.” Emboldened by the historic Berlin Airlift, this endeavor aims to provide essential aid to the North Korean populace. The coalition, which placed messages and supplies in bottles and released them into the sea with the expectation that the currents would carry them to the Korean peninsula, has successfully completed seventeen launches.
Each vial functions as a source of motivation, containing not only a sufficient amount of rice to provide sustenance for a family for an entire week, but also a flash drive containing a Bible, a U.S. dollar bill, and a heartfelt Christmas message from Scholte. The message she presents reassesses the historical backdrop of Christianity in Pyongyang, as well as the stringent suppression of religious freedom that transpired under the Kim II Sung administration.
Furthermore, the flash devices are loaded with cultural resistance materials, such as popular K-Pop songs, North Korean songs with lyrics rewritten to glorify God instead of praising Kim Jong Un, and excerpts from the Books of Matthew and Mark. Recorded messages endorsing the cause of freedom for the North Korean people are contained within the document. These messages originate from U.S. legislators, including Senators Jim Risch and Tim Kaine, Congressmen Michael McCaul, and Gregory Meeks.
The outreach initiatives of the North Korean Freedom Coalition, which commenced in 2022, surpass the simple distribution of these bottles. Furthermore, alongside the distribution of 600 shortwave radios accompanied by earphones, they have implemented a program that grants authorization for Americans to dispatch packages into the country.
As per the findings of Scholte, these endeavors have played a role in augmenting the North Korean populace’s consciousness of the global community. The author emphasizes the utmost significance of communicating to North Korean leaders the desire of their international allies and friends to bestow upon them the freedoms, optimism, and liberties that are characteristic of democratic societies.
In addition, the Defense Forum Foundation offers financial assistance to Free North Korea Radio, an entity that continues to transmit news and information into North Korea despite efforts by the regime to impair its signals. Kim Song Min, the director of the film, expressed gratitude to the United States for its support in disseminating the truth in North Korea and exposing the regime’s propaganda, which portrayed the United States as the adversary. Min had escaped North Korea in 1997.
The activists’ aim extends beyond the simple provision of material aid; rather, it is a progressive dissemination of a message of optimism and liberation to the North Korean populace, which stands as evidence of the universal yearning for liberty and enhanced standards of living.