North Korea has started making scary, disturbing noises from across the border into South Korea, causing distress to villagers and disrupting daily life. Residents of Dangsan, a small village near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), say the constant noise – ranging from bell-like sounds to ghostly screams – has made life unbearable, with some calling it a “noise bombardment.”
“It’s driving us crazy,” one resident told the NY Times. “You don’t sleep at night. It’s a bombing without shells,” he said, describing the endless suffering.
Since July, North Korea’s loudspeakers have been active 24 hours a day, replacing their traditional propaganda broadcasts with alarmist sounds. These sounds, described as grinding metal, howling wolves or even artillery fire, are having a psychological impact on the villagers, causing insomnia, headaches and stress.
Unlike traditional propaganda broadcasts, which included music and human voices, these noises contain no clear message. Another resident reflected on past tensions, saying, “At least the old broadcasts had human sounds we could tolerate.”
The eavesdropping attack is part of rising tensions between the two Koreas. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has abandoned talks with South Korea and the US, while South Korean President Yun Suk Yeol has stepped up military exercises with allies and resumed propaganda broadcasts targeting the North .
In May, North Korea retaliated against anti-Kim letters sent by defectors to the South by releasing its own balloons filled with garbage. Shortly afterward, the South resumed broadcasting K-pop and news through loudspeakers, prompting a fierce counterattack from the North.
North Korea expert Kang Dong-wan said, “North Korea knows that its propaganda will no longer work on the South Korean people.” “The goal of its loudspeakers has changed from spreading disinformation to forcing South Korea to stop its own broadcasts and leaflets.”
For Dangsan residents, the psychological damage is immense. Once proud of their quiet rural lifestyle, villagers now seal their windows with Styrofoam and avoid outdoor activities. “The government has abandoned us because we are small in numbers and mostly old people,” said a 75-year-old resident.
Despite parliamentary visits and emotional appeals for relief, officials have offered nothing beyond temporary measures such as double-paned windows and livestock deworming. Villagers fear they are pawns in an ongoing political standoff.
Koh Yoo-hwan, former head of the Korea Institute for National Unification, said, “The two Koreas should recommit to their old agreements not to condemn each other.” Nevertheless, North Korea recently disrupted key transportation links and disrupted GPS signals near the border, indicating its intention to escalate further.
