[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] North Korean YouTuber 'YuMi' has attracted attention with her video reaching over 40,000 views, CNN reported on the 4th (local time).
CNN focused on a YouTube channel called 'Olivia Natasha-YuMi Space DPRK Daily,' which uploaded a video six months ago featuring YuMi, a woman living in Pyongyang.
In the video, YuMi enters a store with a sign that reads 'Eumryo Sangjeom' (Beverage Shop) as if filming a vlog (a video capturing personal daily life), picks up an ice cream, and continues with lines such as "The picture on the packaging is so cute."
The channel also features about ten other videos showing YuMi visiting an amusement park, fishing, and working out in a fully equipped gym.
Last year, the YouTube channel 'Sally Parks' featured an 11-year-old girl named Song-a living in Pyongyang, gaining attention as a 'North Korean kids YouTuber.' In the videos, Song-a reveals that her favorite book is 'Harry Potter' and visits the Munsu Water Park in North Korea. This channel has surpassed 20,000 subscribers.
These channels claim to showcase the daily lives of North Korean residents, but experts, according to CNN, suspect them to be regime propaganda campaigns devised under the direction of North Korea's high-ranking officials.
In particular, places appearing in the background of the videos, such as amusement parks and water parks, are accessible only to certain classes and are likely not operating normally.
Park Sung-chul, a research fellow at the North Korea Human Rights Information Center, told CNN, "(These videos) seem like a well-prepared play by the North Korean regime," adding, "They do not reflect the ordinary lives of North Korean residents."
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