North Korea Imposes Death Penalty for Consuming South Korean Media
Disturbing new testimony shared with Amnesty International reveals that North Korean citizens, including schoolchildren, are being executed for watching South Korean television shows such as Squid Game and listening to K-pop music. The evidence comes from 25 in-depth interviews with North Koreans, including 11 individuals who fled the country between 2009 and 2020, as reported by the Independent.
Severe Punishments for Foreign Media Consumption
Most interviewees were aged between 15 and 25 when they left North Korea. Escapees described severe and humiliating punishments, with death sentences imposed in the most extreme cases for consuming foreign media. One interviewee recounted hearing from an escapee with family connections that people, including high school students, had been executed for watching Squid Game in Yanggang Province, near the Chinese border.
Another execution for distributing the popular show was previously documented in North Hamgyong Province in 2021. Amnesty International stated these reports suggest multiple executions related to South Korean entertainment content.
Dangers of Listening to K-Pop Music
Escapees also detailed the significant risks associated with listening to foreign music, particularly K-pop. Bands like BTS were specifically mentioned in their testimony. In 2021, a group of teenagers in South Pyongan Province, near the capital Pyongyang, were reportedly investigated for listening to BTS music.
The Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Act
In 2020, North Korea introduced the Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Act, which criminalizes the consumption of South Korean content. This draconian law mandates five to 15 years of forced labor for watching or possessing South Korean dramas, music, or films. It prescribes the death penalty for distributing large amounts of content or organizing group viewings.
Public Executions as Ideological Education
Kim Eunju, 40, described witnessing executions as part of what authorities call ideological education. "When we were 16, 17, in middle school, they took us to executions and showed us everything," she said. "People were executed for watching or distributing South Korean media. It's ideological education: if you watch, this happens to you too."
Choi Suvin, who fled North Korea in 2019, recalled a public execution in Sinuiju in 2017 or 2018. "Authorities told everyone to go, and tens of thousands of people from Sinuiju city gathered to watch," she said. "They execute people to brainwash and educate us."
Financial Disparities in Punishment
Choi Suvin added that people often sell their homes to avoid punishment. "People are caught for the same act, but punishment depends entirely on money. People without money sell their houses to gather $5,000 or $10,000 to pay to get out of the re-education camps."
This testimony highlights the extreme measures North Korea employs to control information and cultural influences, with devastating consequences for its citizens who seek connection with the outside world through popular media.
