North Korea News Podcast by NK News - Bong-Seung Shin: How a South Korean journalist reported from inside the North

Episode Date: October 30, 2025

In this episode, veteran KBS journalist Bong-Seung Shin shares his experience reporting from North Korea and communicating with journalists on the ground in the country. Shin first traveled to Pyongyang in 2008, crossing the demilitarized zone by air as part of a trip organized by an NGO. He describes the excitement of entering North Korea […]

You're listening to an exclusive episode of the NK News podcast, available only to subscribers. You can listen to this and other episodes from your preferred podcast player by accessing the private podcast feed. For more detailed instructions, please see the step-by-step guide on the NK News website at nknews.org slash private-feed. Hello, listeners, and welcome to the NK News podcast. I'm your host, Jacko Zwedslute, and today it is the 24th of October 2025, and I'm here in the NK News studio, joined by a brand new new guest, and that is Mr. Bongsung Shin, who is a TV journalist with Korea's state-owned broadcaster KBS. And in June 2008, it was almost 20 years ago, Mr. Shin traveled to Pyongyang, driving by land across the demilitarized zone to do some reporting in North Korea.

This was just about eight months after the October 2007 summit between President Noamohyon and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-il, both of whom have since died. Then, 10 years later, in 2018, Sishin remained in Seoul while his team traveled to Pyongyang to cover the summit meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un. Although he stayed in Seoul, he gave directions to the team in Pyongyang and stayed in contact with them throughout their trip.

He was at that time serving as the chief of the Inter-Korean Co-Corean Cooperation Department at KBS. So today we're going to talk about both of those reporting trips. Welcome on the show, Shin Bongsun. Good morning. Good morning. Thank you for joining me. So when you first got the call to travel to North Korea in June 2008, what went through your mind? Did you feel excitement, fear, or something else? Well, when I first heard I could go to Pyongyang, so I thought, so many thoughts came to us, came to me. And as a South Korean journalist, it's kind of the dream job, and also it is also bucket list. Bucket list, yeah.

So ordinary people can go North Korea. Right. So it feels like a layer and historic chance. So before becoming journalist, I promised. that I want to go to some rare place like Antarctica or war field or North Korea. And as a South Korean journalist, as a South Korean civilians, it is not allowed to travel North Korea. So my dream just came true. So I was so excited. You were very excited. Yeah. And this was, this was in 2008, so President Im Yong Bak, the

conservative president was controlling the Blue House at that time. It was after the summit between Noor and President Noor and Chairman Kim. I Myeongbuk, he wasn't very friendly towards North Korea. So what was the reason for your trip? Why were you going to Pyongyang? Well, at the time, the travel was organized by the NGO, civilian NGO. Name is Good Neighbors. So I was also a sponsor or the donor of the NGO, the Good Neighbors. And then that trip was already organized before the Imengbao administration. So they planned or scheduled to travel North Korea at that time. Good Neighbors, was that organization bringing some humanitarian assistance to North Korea?

At that time, I think they didn't give any. aid to North Korea but they they're at the time they their job is to monitor their donation or human aid right which is the fertilizer plant in Nampo what's what's right or fertilizer yeah Nampo and then chemical fertilizer I'm not social I'm not good at the fertilizer okay things and also the the the two build a child hospital in Hyeong So they are monitoring, their aid is going well or not. And they brought a team from KBS to film that monitoring.

At that time, our group is over 200. Oh, that's a big group. Yeah. So all of the group are the sponsor or Dono of the good neighbors. And also, KBS journalists, two journalists, me and my senior reporter, also the sponsor of the Good Neighbors. You mean individually you donated money or you mean through KBS?

Individually I also donate a small amount of money but I'm not so sure the KBS officially or regularly donate good neighbors. Okay, but because you were a donor, good friends invited you. Because I was a sponsor of a donor. So they allow, they give, gave us to visit North Korea with them.

Okay, how long was that trip? Four night and five days. Yeah, okay. So in 2008, you flew from Seoul to Pyongyang via Beijing. No. No, direct. Oh, direct. Yeah.

So at the time, so only small group are allowed to Pyongyang. But then my plot is from Gimpo Airport to Pyongyang Sunan Airport on a very old illusion plane. Oh, that's a Russian-made plane. Russian-made Goryo Air. So the Gordio Airplane flew to Gimpo, picked you and your group up, 200 people, and then brought you to Pyongyang.

Pyongyang is a direct. And not to the land, above the land, just go to the western sea. Yes, west sea, yellow sea, and then north and then in from the sea. Yes. Okay, yeah. So not over the demilitarized zone, but over the sea.

I want to check, but then they just went to the yellow sea and went into their west coast in Pyongyang. Now that's a very rare trip. Not many planes have made that journey from Gimpot to Sunan Airport. How did that feel for you? Well, how can I say? If I just on board, legally is a North Korean territory. So after closing the door, the plane.

Right. So the airplane itself, inside the airplane, that's North Korea. That's North Korea. Even from Gimpot, you already feel I'm kind of inside North Korea. Yeah, also the crew member, flight attendants, the filers are North Korean. they speak in North Korean accent. And when the manner and the tone of the treating us is different from the South Korean flight attendant,

the viola. So I already even alive in Pyongyang, even if I stayed in Seoul. How are their manners different? Were they friendly or more friendly, less friendly? Strict? Very strict. Very strict.

Because some of our group members, they want to take the picture or filming. Through the window. Inside the plane. Inside the plane of the flight attenders and the crew members. And they are very strict not to take the filming and videotape. So you couldn't film inside the plane? No, no.

They are not allowed. And could you film through the window to outside, to the land? Could you film that way? I cannot remember when we stay in Kimpo, but when we just arrive in Pyongyang-Sunan airport, they are not allowed to targeting it or aiming at the window side because I'm a video journalist.

So they are always watching me what I did. So if I aiming or the video recording through the window, even inside of the plane or a car, they are strictly, yeah. They stopped it? No, yes. At that time, this is 2008, smartphones were a little bit new. At that time, did you have a, could you film with your phone

or were you filming with a big camera? I brought a video camera, but that is not a tape recording camera. It is a digital camera. And then I also can remember that North Korea, an security department officer, maybe agent. They always want to check my video camera. But then they didn't know how to operate. Because it's a new technology.

So they knew that how to operate digital DSL. So still camera. Still camera. But they do not operate. They didn't operate the digital video cameras. So they also asked me what kind of the technology they use and how to erase

and there is no need to tell how to erase my film to tell so I didn't tell you didn't tell them how to erase no oh okay so but now what about when you were actually when you were flying in the plane

could you look down and see oh that's that's North Korea there's you know you could recognize before the plane landed in Sunan could you see the land and see Oh, this is also career. Curious to hear the rest? Become an NK News subscriber today for access to the full episode.

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