As the North-South Korean summit was held on April 27, more and more people are taking a positive view of North Korea. Many people began to feel positive when they saw Kim Jong-un at the summit. On the other hand, there are some concerns that it is too early to judge Kim Jong-un by his behavior at the summit, and we have to take heed of this situation. What did CBNU students think about the change in the relationship between North and South Korea? In addition, how did the media outlets affect people’s views?
  The North-South Korean summit focused on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, lasting peace and the development of inter-Korean relations. The summit was broadcast nationwide in real time on TV stations, and many video clips were uploaded on Internet sites like YouTube. Among them, the scene where Kim Jong-un stepped into South Korea at Panmunjeom and the scene where both Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in crossed the border between South and North garnered the most attention. In addition, the scenes of Kim Jong-un showing respect to his elder, President Moon, and joking with Moon Jae-in while eating Pyeongyang naengmyeon helped soften his cruel dictator image.
  According to a survey conducted among 100 students on the CBNU community site Every Time, 62% of students felt positive, 11% of students felt negative, and 27% of students felt just neutral about the summit. When they were asked whether they had changed their views about North Korea, 64% of students answered that their view was unchanged, and the other 36% of students answered that their view changed from negative to positive. None of the students answered that their view changed positive to negative. Most students said that the familiar scenes between the two leaders changed their view. For example, they felt familiarity when Kim Jong-un took Moon Jae-in’s hand or when they smiled together while they watched a kid’s performance. Students said the scene where Kim Jong-un said, “Why should we go on a difficult way,” in reference to nuclear technology, helped change their view. When asked about the impact of the media on the change in perception, 86% of the students said that the influence of the media was great, and 14% said it was not meaningful. Some students said the media affected them positively because preconceptions of Kim can be broken through their coverage. For example, one student commented positively, saying, “Media point out facts which we might overlook. Also, the actions of Kim Jong-un were viewed widely through the media, and more people can know the truth.” On the other hand, some students said that they experienced the bias of the media by saying that the media only showed the bright side and inserted only positive captions. One student said, “When we look at the previous North-South Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, there is a limit to just looking at this situation positively. In addition, only a few outlets mentioned such dangers, and most of the media focused on the positive effects of a summit. I think this situation pushes a positive impression onto the public.”
  The survey showed that most people felt positive about the way Kim Jong-un acted, and many people’s views were changed as a result of the inter-Korean summit. The media also had a significant impact on the perceptions of students, and student’s thoughts about the effects of media were balanced, with 50% being positive and negative. Of course, the media have the positive impact that more people can access information more easily. However, negative opinions about the media focused on providing unbiased information. When we accept media information, it is necessary to have an active attitude to search for information with diverse opinions and to judge the provided information carefully.

By Jo Se-in l si38@cbnu.ac.kr
Illustraed by Park Han-na