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Korean Central Television | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 3 March 1963 |
| Type | State television broadcaster |
| Headquarters | Pyongyang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
| Owner | Korean Central Broadcasting Committee |
Korean Central Television (KCTV; Korean: 조선중앙텔레비죤) is the principal state television channel of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). It broadcasts news, documentaries, political and educational programmes, films, music, children's programmes, sports and other programming throughout the country.[1]
KCTV forms an important part of the DPRK's mass media and regularly carries coverage of Kim Jong Un, decisions and activities of the Workers' Party of Korea, economic campaigns, historical documentaries and cultural programming.[2]
The channel is also an important primary source for those outside the DPRK seeking to examine the country's official political positions and domestic media directly. Footage from KCTV is frequently analyzed and reproduced in foreign coverage of the country.
History
Regular television broadcasting in the DPRK began on 3 March 1963. The service initially operated as Pyongyang Television and later took the name Korean Central Television.[1][3]
The development of television broadcasting took place during the reconstruction and socialist development of the DPRK following the devastation of the Korean War. It also formed part of the broader development of national communications and cultural institutions after the liberation of Korea from Japanese colonial rule.
Korean sources place the adoption of the present Korean Central Television name in 1970. The channel subsequently introduced colour broadcasting during the 1970s.[4] The South Korean Ministry of Unification's North Korea Information Portal likewise records the station as having opened in 1963, changed to its present name in 1970 and begun colour broadcasting in 1974.[5]
For many years KCTV was the only television channel available to most of the population. Additional television services were later developed, but KCTV remained the country's main national channel.[1]
Satellite distribution of KCTV began in 1999, allowing the station to be received outside the DPRK.[1][6]
The channel has undergone substantial technical modernization. In 2012, China Central Television provided KCTV with broadcasting equipment valued at approximately US$800,000 to upgrade its production and transmission systems. KCTV began using a high-definition satellite feed in 2015 and made widescreen high-definition programming its standard output in December 2017.[7]
Programming
KCTV broadcasts news, documentaries, political education, feature films, music, children's programming, scientific and educational material, economic reports and sports.[1][2]
Political and historical programmes occupy an important part of the schedule. These include coverage of the Workers' Party of Korea, the activities of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un, Korean revolutionary history, the struggle against Japanese imperialism, the Korean War, socialist construction and national development.
A published KCTV schedule from September 2019, for example, included reports on industrial production, educational work, Korean revolutionary history, children's programming, documentaries, political speeches, news and a recorded international football match.[1]
Economic coverage frequently focuses on factories, mines, farms, construction projects and other workplaces. Reports commonly present production campaigns and major state development projects alongside scientific, cultural and educational achievements.[2]
Entertainment programming includes Korean feature films, television dramas, concerts, children's animation and other cultural material. The station has also occasionally shown foreign programming. In May 2018, KCTV began broadcasting the 36-part Chinese television drama Mao Anying, concerning the eldest son of Mao Zedong.[8]
Sports occupy a regular and growing portion of the schedule. KCTV broadcasts domestic and international sporting competitions, including football. International matches are often shown after a delay rather than live; an analysis of broadcasts between April 2022 and January 2025 found that foreign football matches could appear days or weeks after they had taken place.[9]
News
KCTV is the DPRK's principal national television channel for political news and major state announcements. Its main evening news bulletin has traditionally aired at 20:00, alongside additional news broadcasts during the day.[1]
Reports concerning Kim Jong Un receive particularly prominent placement. An analysis of KCTV's coverage during 2018 found that reports concerning his activities were commonly broadcast several times during the day and could displace the ordinary news schedule when major events occurred.[10]
KCTV also reports meetings and decisions of the Workers' Party of Korea, economic policy, international affairs, major construction projects, military affairs and events throughout the DPRK.
The channel has on occasion significantly altered its normal format in response to emergencies. When Typhoon Bavi approached the DPRK in August 2020, KCTV broadcast throughout the night and repeatedly carried weather warnings and reports from the State Hydro-Meteorological Administration. This was described at the time as an unprecedented departure from the station's normal broadcasting pattern.[11]
KCTV's news reflects the political line and priorities of the DPRK and the Workers' Party of Korea. It consequently constitutes a direct primary source for the public positions and political presentation of the Korean socialist state rather than an interpretation supplied by foreign media.
Broadcasting
KCTV broadcasts nationally within the DPRK and has been available internationally by satellite since 1999.[1]
For many years the channel maintained considerably shorter broadcasting hours than twenty-four-hour television networks. During the 2010s, a typical broadcast day began at approximately 15:00 and ended around 22:30. Earlier broadcasts were scheduled on Sundays, certain days of each month and major national holidays.[1]
This schedule changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 15 May 2022, shortly after the DPRK announced a national COVID-19 emergency, KCTV began broadcasting from 09:00 instead of its previous ordinary weekday starting time of 15:00. The expanded daily schedule continued after the immediate emergency.[12]
The North Korea Information Portal reported in 2025 that KCTV continued to begin daily broadcasting at 09:00 following the expansion introduced in May 2022.[13]
Unlike Voice of Korea, which is intended primarily for an international audience, KCTV is principally a domestic television service. Satellite distribution nevertheless allows its output to be observed outside the DPRK.
Political role
KCTV occupies an important position in the political and cultural life of the DPRK. It communicates decisions of the Workers' Party of Korea and the state, reports on economic and social campaigns, provides political and historical education and presents cultural programming to a national audience.
Its political content emphasizes socialist construction, national sovereignty, collective achievements and the history of the Korean struggle against colonialism and imperialism. Coverage of the Workers' Party, state policy and the country's leadership is integrated throughout its news and documentary programming.[2]
KCTV footage is frequently incorporated into foreign reports concerning the DPRK. Direct examination of the original broadcasts allows researchers to distinguish what the DPRK actually broadcast from interpretations subsequently added by foreign media, governments or other organizations.
See also
External links
- Juche TV- live relay of Korean Central Television
- Koryo Front - KCTV live stream and broadcast archive
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Martyn Williams (2020-12-16). "North Korea's Multi-Channel TV Age" 38 North.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Martyn Williams (2025-12-18). "North Korea's Other TV: What You Don't See on KCTV" 38 North.
- ↑ "조선중앙텔레비전방송". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture.
- ↑ "조선중앙텔레비전방송". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture.
- ↑ "언론 및 출판". North Korea Information Portal.
- ↑ "언론 및 출판". North Korea Information Portal.
- ↑ Martyn Williams (2017-12-05). "KCTV gets a widescreen, stereo upgrade" North Korea Tech.
- ↑ Martyn Williams (2018-05-24). "KCTV airing multi-part Chinese drama series" North Korea Tech.
- ↑ Martyn Williams (2025-02-26). "Goals, Delays and Mystery: International Football Coverage on Korean Central Television" 38 North.
- ↑ Martyn Williams (2018-12-27). "North Korean Media: KCTV's Coverage of Kim Jong Un's Diplomatic Push in 2018" 38 North.
- ↑ Martyn Williams (2020-08-28). "We Interrupt this Propaganda…A Dynamic 24 Hours on North Korean TV" 38 North.
- ↑ Martyn Williams (2022-08-01). "An expansion of KCTV broadcasting hours" 38 North.
- ↑ "언론 및 출판". North Korea Information Portal.