South Korea is no longer a fragile democracy struggling for survival. It stands as the world’s 10th-largest economy, a global cultural powerhouse fueled by the soft power of K-culture, and a nation whose democratic institutions have proven remarkably resilient through successive political upheavals. Yet, the recent domestic furor over easing restrictions on the South Korean public’s access to North Korean media suggests that the conservative camp remains psychologically anchored in a Cold War mindset. Their insistence on maintaining an information blockade reflects a worldview that prioritizes state-led censorship over the systemic confidence that should define a modern liberal democracy. When the Lee Jae Myung administration announced that it would partially lift the decades-old ban on North Korean broadcasts and publications, some conservatives were swift to denounce the move, calling it a dangerous concession to Pyongyang. However, these visceral reactions reveal less about actual security vulnerabilities and more about a profound lack of faith in South Korea’s own democratic