Understanding Korea, One Story at a Time Podcast · Behind-the-scenes stories and research on growing up in Korean society.

🎧 Podcast: The Dictator’s Playlist: Censorship, Sex, and Sports in Authoritarian South Korea

November 20, 2025·16 min·1 clip

Dictator Jeon Do-hwan created the 3S policy—Sports, Screen, and Sex—to distract a nation he had just massacred.

This episode explores how South Korean dictators Park Jung-hee and Jeon Do-hwan used censorship and distraction—through banned music, state-sponsored erotica, and professional sports—to control the national culture. It reveals how these oppressive measures ultimately backfired, fueling a creative resistance that helped shape modern Korean cultural dynamism.

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