Courtesy of Thomas Evans

Shortly after the Korean election in 2017, I received a gift set from President Moon Jae-in. It arrived in a special case with the symbols of the Blue House and the presidency all over it. It was a set of commemorative glasses and some high-end soju, the latter of which was enjoyed with some meat and cheese. I'm not sure I had done anything to deserve such a present. Indeed, the cynical observer might suggest that it was a way for the administration to try and get foreign journalists and media figures onside for their domestic and international policies, one of which focused very heavily on North Korea and engagement with Pyongyang.

The courting of the Baekdu leadership by the Democratic Party was fantastic in terms of press coverage and image making. However, it sadly failed to achieve anything in terms of lasting change or progress. We're still not allowed to phone or send letters to those north of the border. Contact is a crime.

It's frustrating how the left in South Korea will bend over backwards to not offend North Korea while the right will do all in their power to never accommodate them. Both sides of the political spectrum "other" the Pyongyang leadership for their own domestic support and goals. They both refuse to see any complexity or ambiguity in the North. There is either humanity or inhumanity but never both at the same time.

Last April, I stepped over the line into North Korea with my brother-in-law as part of a special tour to the JSA. With Covid shutting down the country for a while, that's as close as many of us have gotten recently. So I never expected I would receive my second present from a Korean leader recently, but that's exactly what happened.

Is this real?

Last week, I came home from the pub to find rubbish strewn all over my house. Because it was late and I was rather inebriated, I didn't quite understand what I was looking at. It's rather disorienting to see a sight you are so familiar with all of a sudden changed. "Maybe it's just the booze," I told myself. Sleep it off, forget about it, and see what it's like in the morning. But as the sun rose and my hungover crept in, I could see that the rubbish was still there. Fluttering unapologetically in the breeze.

My house in Seoul is in a rather isolated position and not surrounded by any others so it felt almost like a personal attack. As if someone had deliberately targeted me. All of the paper and plastic was covering the floor in front of my house and nowhere else. It wasn't to the side of my house. It wasn't down the road. It was right in front of my door.

My mind began racing. Was it a passing hiker throwing things at me? Kids being messy? A gang? Animals? My head contemplated all sorts of permutations. Honestly, that it was from NK was never really top of the list. It was only after looking more closely at the font and design on some of the packaging that I realized it was somewhat strange. Not of this nation. It was written in Korean but the font was redder and more italic than felt comfortable. The slant, the strokes, and the color all hinted at one thing: socialism.

I was careful not to touch or handle any of it. I'm not an overly protective or worried person, but you do wonder what might or could be on the materials. I'm sure it was just trash, but it didn't feel like it was worth taking a chance. I used a stick to flick over various labels and have a look at them. I know many of my friends go up to the border and excitedly share anything they find on the beaches or fields that has an air of North Korea to them. These would probably be pretty interesting to them. To me, however, it was still just rubbish. And I had work to do.

I reported it to the local man who manages the area and he then got in touch with the police. While I was lecturing at the university, they came round and cleaned it up. So upon returning home, most of it was gone. There was still extra rubbish that had since fallen from the roof/trees. I still see some of it out there today. A reminder of the gift.

The whole thing felt almost dreamlike. Coming home to rubbish everywhere and then, the next day, coming home to it all cleaned up. One wonders whether it actually really happened. The few photos I snapped on my phone as I ran towards my afternoon lecture attest that, yes, it did actually happen.

Courtesy of David Tizzard

Emergency Services?

The local man told me the police had confirmed it was from North Korea. People had been receiving alerts on their phone about balloons in the area but I turned off the non-essential messages on my phone long ago. Apparently another balloon fell the other side of our little town. More clean up for the police to do. Because of my busy schedule I'm kind of glad I wasn't forced to spend hours picking it all up. I would have done had it been necessary, but it's nice to know that the government/official agencies take care of it for citizens.

However, with more and more stories about people struggling to find hospitals with doctors these days, it does leave you wondering how these clean-up operations are affecting the manpower and working hours of local law enforcement when obviously there are far more important things they should be doing in South Korean society. I feel somewhat sorry (and thankful) for them and can only hope these clean-ups don't disrupt their work too much

The response on social media has also been rather strange. I uploaded a rather poorly taken photo, snapped quickly on my way to lectures, and it proved incredibly popular with people saying I was now part of history or that I should keep some of the rubbish and sell it. I try to remain humble as much possible but I had hoped that my time on this earth might be remembered for something other than having rubbish from North Korea fall on my place. It's like when people smile and tell you that bird crap is lucky. It's a lovely pithy idea but it doesn't help when you're covered in white smelly stuff.

It also feels like there's a far greater interest in these balloons than their content or experience deserve. They are a nuisance but little more than that (so far). The stuff in my garden is just rubbish. If I were to go to someone else's house and throw that amount of rubbish over their property, I would probably be charged with a crime, or at least receive a stern talking to from the police. So what are we doing with these guys now? Yes, they probably have some legitimate complaints about some of the treatment they've received from the international community. At the same time, their actions mark them as petulant children desperately seeking attention.

When people ask me why they think the North is sending these balloons I can't help but think of the US presidential election and media coverage. Mainstream media is currently dominated by stories of Ukraine and Gaza, leaving little room for Pyongyang's nukes and missiles. If presidents and candidates are going to debate or propose future policy, North Korea wants to make sure its name is front and center of the conversation. Not only does that further legitimize the state itself, it also raises the possibility of using brinkmanship to secure money and funding. The expression ‘money for old rope comes to mind'. In a way, it's kind of clever. But at the same time, throwing rubbish at people is not really on, is it? So howabout some soju next time please, Chairman Kim?

David A. Tizzard has a doctorate in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He is a social-cultural commentator and musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He is also the host of the "Korea Deconstructed" podcast, which can be found online. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr.