Kim Jong-un's regime has sentenced people, including children, to death for consuming South Korean series and movies
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Citizens of North Korea have faced extreme punishments, including the death penalty, for listening to music or watching audiovisual content from South Korea, according to testimonies from people who managed to flee the country.
The accounts describe a system of state control that criminalizes access to foreign information and harshly represses any cultural influence considered contrary to the official ideology.
According to the testimonies, watching South Korean dramas with wide international distribution, such as "Squid Game", "Crash Landing on You" and "Descendants of the Sun", has led to public executions, including of high school students.
El Juego del Calamar ha sido una de las series criminalizadas por el régimen norcoreano
Cases recorded in different provinces, such as Yanggang and North Hamgyong, indicate that these practices may not be isolated, but rather part of a widespread repressive policy.
The persecution also extends to foreign music, particularly K-pop. Interviewed individuals recounted investigations and sanctions against teenagers caught listening to songs by South Korean bands such as BTS, especially in provinces near Pyongyang. The authorities consider this type of content an ideological and moral threat to the State.
The testimonies indicate that the punishment is not applied in an equitable manner. The severity of the sentences largely depends on economic level and family connections.
Meanwhile, citizens with resources can bribe officials to avoid sanctions, while people without money face harsher penalties, such as long sentences in forced labor camps. In some cases, families are forced to sell their homes to gather thousands of dollars and avoid imprisonment.
Kim Jong-un lleva a cabo los castigos de forma inequitativa
Public executions are also described as being used as a method of social control and "ideological education". Schoolchildren and teenagers are forced to witness these acts as a warning. According to the accounts, the objective is to generate fear and dissuade the population from consuming or disseminating foreign material.
Since the approval in 2020 of the Law on the Elimination of Reactionary Thought and Culture, the penalties have become harsher. The regulation establishes sentences of between five and fifteen years of forced labor for consuming South Korean content, and more severe sanctions (including execution) for those who distribute it or organize collective viewings.
To enforce the law, specialized police units carry out raids and searches without a warrant, checking mobile phones and homes in search of prohibited material.
El régimen norcoreano impone penas de 5 a 15 años de trabajos forzados para quienes consuman contenido de Corea del Sur
Despite the risk, the consumption of foreign culture remains common. Series, films and music enter clandestinely from China through USB drives and are shared covertly.
According to the testimonies, this content is consumed not only by ordinary workers, but also by party officials and members of the security forces.
The accounts reflect a system based on fear, censorship and corruption, in which Kim Jong-un's regime keeps strict control over information and arbitrarily punishes those who try to access cultural expressions from abroad.
Varios funcionarios de la dictadura de Kim Jong-un consumen cine y música de Seúl, de acuerdo a testimonios
