Kim Kyung-il, Mayor of Paju City, Visits Daeseongdong Village Affected by Loudspeaker Noise from South Korea

Mayor Kim: "Hearing Directly On-Site, It's Beyond Imagination... Atmosphere of Fear"
From Late September, Loudspeaker Broadcasts Toward South Continue Day and Night
Noise Levels Exceed Regulation Limit of 65dB, Reaching 70-80dB

Kim Kyung-il, mayor of Paju City, visited Daeseong-dong Village on the 31st and spoke with village residents suffering from noise damage caused by loudspeakers from the South.

Kim Kyung-il, mayor of Paju City, visited Daeseong-dong village to assess the damage suffered by residents due to noise from North Korean loudspeakers broadcasting southward.

According to Paju City on the 1st, Mayor Kim Kyung-il visited Daeseong-dong village on the 31st to check the actual damage experienced by residents and to inspect the progress of measures to alleviate the damage.

Daeseong-dong village is the only civilian settlement located inside the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. It is less than 500 meters away from Gijeong-dong village, North Korea’s frontline village, and is known to suffer severe noise damage from North Korean loudspeaker broadcasts aimed southward.

Mayor Kim Kyung-il, along with 10 Paju city officials, passed through the JSA checkpoint and entered the civilian control line area, where the noise from the loudspeakers gradually became audible. The closer they approached the village entrance, the louder the noise became, making it difficult to hold a conversation with the person next to them.

The sounds coming from the loudspeakers included eerie noises such as foxes, wild dogs, and crows crying, ghostly wails, and mechanical sounds resembling scraping metal, creating a frightening atmosphere. Mayor Kim said, "I have never heard such a chilling sound in my life. Hearing it firsthand on site, the noise level is beyond imagination, and I can deeply feel the intense suffering the residents have endured all this time."

The North Korean loudspeaker broadcasts toward the South began around late July in the border area of Paju City. After South Korea resumed loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North on July 18, North Korea responded by activating its loudspeakers aimed southward. Until mid-August, the broadcasts lasted about 4 to 5 hours daily, but the duration gradually increased, and since September 28, the broadcasts have continued 24 hours a day for 33 consecutive days. The noise intensity has also sharply increased, causing most of the 135 residents to suffer from sleep deprivation and neurosis due to sleepless nights.

Earlier, on the 7th of last month, officials from Paju City’s Safety General Division measured the noise on site and found it to be between 70 and 80 decibels, significantly exceeding the legal noise regulation standard of 65 dB. This level is comparable to noise near roads or railways and can cause hearing impairment if exposure is prolonged.

Residents reported that the noise intensity has since increased, recently reaching 115 dB, and at times even 135 dB. According to noise standards set by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, 120 dB is equivalent to the roar of a fighter jet taking off or landing, and 130 dB is the threshold at which pain is felt. The desperate pleas of residents, "Please save us," are nothing less than agonizing screams from people at their breaking point.

The situation shows no signs of improvement. Since the majority of residents are elderly and most are farmers working the surrounding fields, they cannot leave the village to avoid the noise broadcasts. Without swift and active measures to mitigate the damage, serious health problems are expected among the residents.

Kim Jin-su (70), a lifelong resident of Daeseong-dong village, said, "I make a living farming the fields next to the village, so I cannot leave even for a moment. It is extremely painful. I wish we could at least sleep quietly at night."

Earlier, on the 11th of last month, Paju City held a luncheon meeting with residents at the Jangdan-myeon Administrative Welfare Center. On the 18th, an emergency mobile mayor’s office was held at Imjingak Disaster Shelter to listen to the damage situation of Daeseong-dong residents and accelerate the preparation of practical damage mitigation measures. The damage countermeasures announced by Gyeonggi Province on the 23rd included most of the residents’ requests collected through the mobile mayor’s office, such as installing soundproof windows, creating rest areas for residents, and providing temporary accommodations.

While protecting residents from the immediate noise damage is important, it is also urgent to stop the leaflet distribution activities by some North Korean defector groups that have raised military tensions between the North and South since this summer, exacerbating the damage to border area residents.

Upon hearing about the mayor’s visit, residents gathered at the village hall expressed, "The human rights of North Korean people and their freedom of expression are important, but this is a matter of life and death for us right now. Shouldn’t saving our dying citizens come first? We don’t know what our government is doing," condemning the government’s lack of measures in unison.

Kim Dong-gu (55), the village chief, said, "The tension around the DMZ is extremely high these days. If one more balloon is added, it feels like war could break out at any moment. If a localized war breaks out, none of our villagers will survive."

Mayor Kim Kyung-il stated, "The leaflet distribution by some North Korean defector groups is fueling conflict. It is the government’s role to prevent this spark from turning into a large fire," and added, "We will strongly urge the government to implement effective countermeasures."

Mayor Kim also proposed establishing a hotline between Paju City and resident organizations in the affected areas to ensure swift and effective on-site response, as Paju City has recently been designated a risk zone under the Disaster and Safety Act and has established a cooperative system with the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police. He asked for residents’ active cooperation in strengthening monitoring and response to leaflet distribution activities.