--- description: Balloons are a common propaganda delivery method by both Pyongyang and Seoul title: North Korea Drops Propaganda In South Before Olympics image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c310e1a1697fa75/6988fa90cf40a87d1fc4b314/2018-02-05t061912z_1164916885_rc13182baf40_rtrmadp_3_olympics-2018-northkorea-leaflets.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [North Korea](/tag/north-korea/) ## North Korea Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # North Korean Propaganda Is Being Balloon-Dropped Into the South Ahead of Olympics by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 5, 2018 9:48 AM CUT  A propaganda flier from North Korea marking the start of the 2018 Winter Olympics that was found in Seoul is seen in this undated handout photo. A propaganda flier from North Korea marking the start of the 2018 Winter Olympics that was found in Seoul is seen in this undated handout photo.NK News/Handout—Reuters by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 5, 2018 9:48 AM CUT Flyers bearing North Korean propaganda were discovered Saturday in the mountains near Seoul, Reuters [reports](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2018-northkorea-leaflets/north-korea-sends-winter-olympics-propaganda-fliers-to-seoul-website-idUSKBN1FP0J2?il=0 "undefined"), citing a North Korea specialist news website, urging people to welcome their “guests from Pyongyang” as the Winter Olympics draw near. North Korea will be represented at the games by a delegation including the country’s ceremonial head of state, a pop music icon and 12 ice hockey players who will join the South Korean women’s squad. The leaflets feature images of Olympic mascots Soohorang and Bandabi — a cartoon white tiger and black bear — saying: “Let’s go to Kaesong! Let’s go to Mount Kumgang!” Kaesong may refer to the now-shuttered industrial park just north of the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, that separates the North from the South. Mount Kumgang was a joint tourism venture, mothballed in 2008 after a North Korean guard shot a South Korean tourist there. The flyers also extended welcome greetings to “North Korean athletes, cheerleaders, journalists, Taekwondo display team, and performance artists.” **Read more:** [_High Hopes for Talks as North Korea Prepares to Send a Top Official to the Olympics_](http://time.com/5132862/north-korea-olympics-kim-yong-nam/ "undefined") According to Reuters, the leaflets were likely dropped from balloons — a delivery mechanism Seoul also uses to dispatch foreign news and other propaganda north of the DMZ. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5133118/north-korea-olympics-propaganda/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5133118/north-korea-olympics-propaganda/"},"headline":"North Korean Propaganda Is Being Balloon-Dropped Into the South Ahead of Olympics","datePublished":"2018-02-05T09:48:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:08:36.075Z","description":"Balloons are a common propaganda delivery method by both Pyongyang and Seoul","url":"https://time.com/5133118/north-korea-olympics-propaganda/","keywords":["North Korea","Winter Olympics","pubdesk","onetime","2018 Pyeongchang Olympics","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c310e1a1697fa75/6988fa90cf40a87d1fc4b314/2018-02-05t061912z_1164916885_rc13182baf40_rtrmadp_3_olympics-2018-northkorea-leaflets.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph Hincks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c310e1a1697fa75/6988fa90cf40a87d1fc4b314/2018-02-05t061912z_1164916885_rc13182baf40_rtrmadp_3_olympics-2018-northkorea-leaflets.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A propaganda flier from North Korea marking the start of the 2018 Winter Olympics that was found in Seoul","caption":"A propaganda flier from North Korea marking the start of the 2018 Winter Olympics that was found in Seoul","creditText":"NK News/Handout—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/north-korea/","name":"North Korea"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5133118/north-korea-olympics-propaganda/","name":"North Korean Propaganda Is Being Balloon-Dropped Into the South Ahead of Olympics"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A Brief History of Sport and Politics on the Korean Peninsula","description":"Here is a look at how sport and politics have intersected — at times with tragic and even deadly consequences — on the Korean Peninsula.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/hdP2USpo/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-01-09T07:07:50.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hdP2USpo.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5133118/north-korea-olympics-propaganda/","duration":"PT2M26S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5133118/north-korea-olympics-propaganda/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```