Voice of Korea: October 3, 2020

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Jared Dancel, who shares the following recording and notes:

First 20 minutes of broadcast from Voice of Korea. The news portion includes a letter (heard in the 14 minute mark) from the North Korean leader Kim-Jong Un to the US President Donald Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, which at the time, were recovering from the coronavirus.

Date of recording: 10/3/2020

Starting time: 10:01

Frequency: 11.735Mhz

Location: Tarlac, Philippines

Receiver and antenna: Tescun R9012 with telescopic antenna

Voice of Korea (Spanish Language Service): July 29, 2019

The UTwente SDR

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Davi Sousa, who shares the following recording of the Voice of Korea and notes:

Date of recording: 7/29/2019

Starting time: 1900

Frequency: 13.76 MHz

Receiver location: The Netherlands

Your receiver and antenna: Web SDR at University of Twente with Mini-Whip antenna

Notes: Spanish program from Voice of Korea to Europe

Voice of Korea: June 6, 2019

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Bronwyn Cragg, who shares the following recording of the Voice of Korea from June 6, 2019 starting at 16:00 UTC on 11.645 MHz. Bronwyn made this recording using the WebSDR at the University of Twente in the Netherlands.

Voice of Korea: June 11, 2019

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Bronwyn Cragg, who shares the following recording of the Voice of Korea from June 11, 2019 starting at 16:00 UTC on 11.645 MHz. Bronwyn made this recording using the WebSDR at the University of Twente in the Netherlands.

Voice of Korea: June 13, 2019

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Bronwyn Cragg, who shares the following recording of the Voice of Korea from June 13, 2019 starting at 16:00 UTC on 11.645 MHz. Bronwyn made this recording using the WebSDR at the University of Twente in the Netherlands.

Voice of Korea: April 30, 2018

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Mark Fahey, who shares the following recording of the Voice of Korea English language service covering the Panmunjom Summit. This recording was made on April 30, 2018, starting at 06:30 UTC on 9730 kHz.

Mark writes:

An off-air shortwave recording of North Korea's External Radio Service - The Voice of Korea - Announcing the visit and activities of Kim Jong Un during his historic visit to Panmunjom. The broadcast also includes a full reading of the Panmunjom Declaration.

Recorded at the "Behind The Curtain" remote satellite and HF receiving site near Taipei, Taiwan (the site is remotely operated from Freemans Reach in Australia and was specifically established to monitor North Korean radio & television 24x7).

Voice of Korea: February 24, 2016

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Jordan Heyburn, who notes:

Voice of Korea 12015khz received in Armagh City, Northern Ireland on the 24th February 2016 at 1930 UTC. [Receiver used was a] Kenwood R1000 with a 100ft Dipole antenna facing West - East.

Voice of Korea, Sign-off: May 9, 2015

Many thanks to Anthony Messina, for this recording of the Voice of Korea sign off on 15.180 MHz using his Grundig Satellite 750 with External Solarcon in Haddon Heights, NJ USA. Anthony comments:

"Recorded using a panasonic tape recorder to do it the old fashioned way. At the end I mention exactly what time I recorded this."

Voice of Korea: August 9, 2014

North Korea propaganda poster

Many thanks to SWAA contributor, Frank, for this recording of Voice of Korea's English language service. 

Recorded in Europe on August 9, 2014 starting at 16:00 UTC on 11,645 kHz. Frank used a Kenwood R-5000 receiver and Wellbrook ALA 1530+ antenna.

Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Voice of Korea, English: August 17, 2014

North Korea Propaganda Poster

Many thanks to Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contributor, Andre Bagley, who submits this recent recording of the Voice of Korea. Andre writes:

"Voice Of Korea is the international radio service of North Korea (officially known as the Democratic Republic of Korea). Most broadcasts of Voice Of Korea only have one or two stories that are either anti-American, anti-South Korean, or ant-Japanese. However, this particular broadcast's news segment seems to be solely dedicated to insulting it's enemies. Here we have North Korean commentary on the current Israel-Hamas conflict on the Gaza Strip, where the United States is blamed for the mess in their report. South Korea is declared a "colony" of the United States, and much more!

The program follows the exact same format for every broadcast:

:00 Opening signal, station identification: “This is Voice of Korea”

:01 National Anthem

:03 Song of General Kim Il Sung

:06 Song of General Kim Jong Il

:09 News, editorials (approx 15 minutes, but can be extended to full broadcast), followed by music

:30 Reminiscences of Great Leader President Kim Il Sung

:40 Music and features

:50 Editorial, special message (occasional)

:55 Frequency information

:57 Close

The broadcast was recorded using a Olympus VN-702 voice recorder hooked up to a Tecsun PL-600 Shortwave receiver using a random wire antenna. Broadcast was received on 11710 khz between1500-1557 UTC."

Click here to download as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Voice of Korea: March 27, 2014

Many thanks to SWAA contributor, Frank, for this recording of the Voice of Korea's English language service. 

Frank recorded this broadcast of VOK from his home in Europe on March 27, 2014, on 7,570 kHz, starting at 21:00 UTC, using a Kenwood R-5000 receiver and a Wellbrook ALA 1530+ antenna.

Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Voice of Korea: February 14, 2014

The Tower of Juche Idea statue, Pyongyang, North Korea (Photo: Martyn Williams).

Many thanks to SWAA contributor, Frank, for this recording of the Voice of Korea's English language service. Incidentally, you may have noticed that Frank is a very regular contributor here on the SWAA, and we are most grateful for his excellent recordings.

Frank recorded this broadcast of VOK from his home in Europe on February 14, 2014, on 7,570 kHz, starting at 15:00 UTC, using a Kenwood R-5000 receiver and a Wellbrook ALA 1530+ antenna.

Note that VOK mentions the "Shining Star Day": a celebration of the late Kim Jong Il's 72nd birthday. Click here for a VOR report on Shining Star Day.

Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Of course, the Voice of Korea is all about broadcasting hard-core propaganda--a type of broadcast I find incredibly fascinating. But let there be no mistake, to live in the DPRK is to live under one of the world's most oppressive regimes.  If you want to hear a moving, inspirational story about one North Korean woman's escape from the DPRK, click here to view Hyeonseo Lee's: My escape from North Korea, a TED Talk.