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North Korea has begun blasting eerie, unsettling sounds across the border into South Korea, tormenting villagers and disrupting daily life. Residents of Dangsan, a small village near the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), say the relentless noise – from gong-like crashes to ghostly screams – has made life unbearable, with some calling it “noise bombing.”
“It is driving us crazy,” a resident told the NY Times. “You can't sleep at night. It's bombing without shells,” she said, describing the unending torment.
Since July, North Korea's loudspeakers have been active for up to 24 hours a day, replacing their traditional propaganda broadcasts with nerve-racking noises. These sounds, described as metallic grinding, howling wolves, or even artillery fire, are taking a psychological toll on villagers, causing insomnia, headaches, and stress.
Unlike traditional propaganda broadcasts, which included music and human voices, these noises have no discernible message. “At least the old broadcasts were human sounds we could bear,” said another resident, reflecting on past tensions.
This auditory assault is part of escalating tensions between the two Koreas. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has abandoned dialogue with South Korea and the US, while South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has intensified military drills with allies and resumed propaganda broadcasts targeting the North.
In May, North Korea retaliated against anti-Kim leaflets sent by defectors in the South by releasing its own balloons filled with trash. Shortly after, the South resumed broadcasting K-pop and news through loudspeakers, which led to the North's eerie counterattack.
“North Korea knows its propaganda no longer works on South Koreans,” said Kang Dong-wan, a North Korea expert. “The goal of its loudspeakers has changed from spreading propaganda to forcing South Korea to stop its own broadcasts and leaflets.”
For Dangsan residents, the psychological toll 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 number and mostly old people,” said a 75-year-old resident.
Despite parliamentary visits and emotional pleas for relief, officials have offered little beyond temporary measures like double-pane windows and livestock medication. Villagers fear that they are pawns in a relentless political standoff.
"The two Koreas must recommit to their old agreements not to slander each other," said Koh Yu-hwan, a former head of the Korea Institute for National Unification. Yet, North Korea recently demolished key transport links and disrupted GPS signals near the border, signalling its intent to escalate further.