Sacred and Revolutionary: Propaganda Analysis of South Korean and North Korean Online News Articles on Mount Paektu

Following North Korea’s adoption of the “Two hostile states theory” in December 2023, the symbolic role of Mount Paektu—a core element of Korean national identity and former pro‑unification rhetoric—requires re‑examination. It remains unclear how propaganda in both Koreas constructs “Us vs. Them” narratives around this mountain after the ideological shift. This paper aims to compare two online news articles covering visits to Mount Paektu: one from North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun (2026) and one from South Korea’s Jogye Order Buddhist website (2024). The goal is to compare political rhetoric in a changed ideological environment. This is going to be achieved by identifying propaganda techniques used to construct Us vs. Them narratives. The Institute for Propaganda Analysis (IPA) method is applied, focusing on seven techniques (name calling, glittering generalities, transfer, testimonial, plain folks, card stacking, bandwagon). Four techniques appear: name calling, transfer, testimonial, and bandwagon. The North Korean text uses name calling and transfer to link journalists to the anti‑Japanese struggle and the Kim dynasty’s “eternal bloodline,” creating an exclusively northern “Us.” The South Korean text uses transfer (“peace pilgrimage”), testimonial, and bandwagon to emphasize inter‑Korean and generational unity, even citing the pan‑Korean hero Hong Beom Do, thus constructing a unifying, pan‑Korean “Us.” Both identify imperial Japan as “Them.” Despite sharing the same genre and national symbol, the two texts employ propaganda techniques to produce diverging Us vs. Them narratives—one northern‑exclusive, one pan‑Korean—each aligning with its respective state’s current official stance.