To the Director General of the BBC
To the management board of the BBC
P R O T E S T L E T T E R
Dear Sir,
We, the Korean Friendship Association of the UK, are sending this letter of protest to the BBC, to complain about the constant lies and misinformation about the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ( DPRK ).We are concerned by the issue of the reliability and protection of truth in information disseminated by the media in the UK as BBC activities.
Before anything else, we would point out that the BBC repeatedly refers to the DPRK as ‘North Korea’ instead of using its correct title. This is a way of diminishing the dignity of the DPRK and misinforming people about the nature of the political and economic system there.
Here are some examples of the BBC’s inaccurate coverage of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. A recent example is that on the 16th of October the BBC carried a report titled: ‘Are North Korean troops joining Russia’s war in Ukraine?’ which claimed that 3,000 DPRK troops were joining the Russian army and quoted an unnamed ‘Ukrainian intelligence official’ but failed to mention that this had been confirmed by either Russia or the DPRK and was later described as a ‘rumour’ by the vice – Foreign Minister of the DPRK. The report inaccurately claimed that the DPRK’s regular armed forces have 1.28 million people serving when in fact the actual numbers are 500,000 to 600,000.
On June 15th 2023 the BBC broadcast a programme titled: ‘Inside north Korea Which alleged that there was ‘famine’ and ‘starvation’ in the DPRK.
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The BBC did not and does not have reporters inside the DPRK. At the time the programme was made the DPRK’s borders were shut.
To make matters worse the BBC claimed that they carried out interviews with DPRK citizens with the help of the ‘Daily NK’. The ‘Daily NK’ a south Korean anti-DPRK propaganda which is linked to the US CIA and south Korean NIS as well as ultra rightists, fascists and south Korean nazis. It receives funding from the US government funded: ‘National Endowment for Democracy Even’ the south Korean ‘Unification Ministry’ once criticized the ‘Daily NK’ saying that the ‘flood of raw, unconfirmed reports’ from organizations including ‘Daily NK”complicates efforts to understand the North.
In fact the BBC has on numerous occasions claimed that there is a ‘famine’ in the DPRK or there will be a famine or that there were food shortages ,however none of this turned out to be true.
On the 10th of February 2016 the BBC reported that former Chief of General Staff of the Korean People’s Army General Ri Yong Gil had been executed. This has been proved false. General Ri was elected to a position at the 7th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea held in May 2016 and was promoted in April 2017 ( by order of Marshal Kim Jong Un ) and, is currently chief of general staff of the Korean People’s Army.
In May 2016 BBC reporter Rupert Wingfield – Hayes signed a statement admitting that his reporting was biased and inaccurate. Amongst other things Wingfield-Hayes claimed that children at the Okryu Children’s Hospital were not ill and were actors! We would ask how Mr Wingfield – Hayes, who was not a doctor or a qualified medical professional would know?
In general the BBC’s coverage of the DPRK is full of cliches such as ‘isolated’, ‘totalitarian’ and ‘impoverished’. It totally fails to mention that the DPRK is an independent socialist state which has massive achievements such as free housing
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Lastly, the BBC was partly responsible for the production and broadcasting of the scurrilous propaganda film targeting the Korean Friendship Association titled: ‘The Mole – Undercover in north Korea’ which involved the infiltration of the Korean Friendship Association ( KFA ), a legitimate organisation by an undercover intelligence agent and, the covert filming of KFA activities without the consent of those involved. Moreover, the film made false allegations that have never been substantiated. The BBC have never apologised to KFA or paid compensation for using footage without permission or defamation. It is defamation of the good name of a social, cultural and solidarity organization such as we are and, infringement of copyright in the sense of using our materials without permission. Are such standards appropriate to the BBC’s activities and how do they relate to the applicable law?
We, the Korean Friendship Association of the UK asking you, why does the BBC act against the democratic principles of freedom of speech, which is in the light of the provisions of not only domestic but also international law, and say that the media, including television, should be impartial and speak the truth and reliable, verified and evidence – based truth
How is the BBC in a situation where through its actions and lies about the DPRK it breaks the own – make regulations that say that: By spreading false information about DPRK you are also breaking your own rules as ‘BBC Values ‘which say that:
‘ … We have established a set of values for everyone working at the BBC. They represent the expectations we
have for ourselves and each other, they guide our day – to – day decisions and the way we behave.Our values are: … TRUST is the foundation of the BBC – we’re independent, impartial and truthful’
Spreading false information about the DPRK and presenting the country in a false image violates the values of truthfulness and impartiality.Also ‘the Broadcasting Act 1990’in the SECTION THREE: Impartiality. 3.1
Objectives, prohibits the broadcasting of:’news which is not impartial and accurate ‘and says that: ‘Opinion should be clearly distinguished from fact.’ In the materials presented by the BBC stations, opinions based on false information are presented as facts.
We kindly ask you to respond by post or email to our letter.We would also like to inform you that this letter of protest is public and your response to it or lack thereof will be published as well.
We demand that the BBC changes its policy and stance towards reporting on the Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea.
S i g n e d :
D r Dermot H u d s o n
Chairman,
of the Korean Friendship Association UK
A l a n B o l o n
Organization Secretary,
of the Korean Friendship Association UK
