Recently, a group of North Korean defectors released propaganda balloons towards North Korea containing Korean drama USB flash drives. Over thirty North Korean high school students found these flash drives and were publicly executed for watching the Korean dramas.
According to a report by South Korea’s “Chosun Ilbo” on July 12th, last month, a group of North Korean defectors released propaganda balloons towards North Korea, which included Korean drama USB flash drives. In early July, over thirty North Korean high school students who found and watched the dramas on the flash drives were publicly executed.
Last month, North Korea also sentenced over thirty teenagers around 17 years old to life imprisonment and death for similar reasons. Additionally, North Korean residents who found rice washed ashore in plastic containers from South Korean defector groups and used it for cooking were sentenced to labor camps.
A defector mentioned witnessing a 22-year-old man publicly executed in 2022 for merely listening to 70 Korean songs and watching three Korean movies, as well as sharing them with others during his trial.
The report by “Chosun Ilbo” highlighted that North Korea’s authorities have produced educational videos for the public. These videos include reports of Pyongyang women being reported for dressing and styling their hair like characters in Korean dramas.
Based on the “Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Resistance Law” enacted in December 2020, North Korea enforces severe punishments for engaging with South Korean culture. The law stipulates that disseminating South Korean films can lead to the death penalty, viewers can be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison, using a South Korean accent or singing style may result in 2 years of hard labor, and restrictions also apply to books, songs, and photos.
Instances of harsh punishment for residents engaging with Korean culture or cuisine in North Korea are confirmed in testimonies from defectors in the “2024 North Korean Human Rights Report” released by South Korea’s Ministry of Unification.
For example, behaviors such as wearing white wedding dresses instead of traditional Korean attire, drinking from wine glasses, and wearing sunglasses are classified as “reactionary.”
Despite the risk of severe penalties, cases of North Korean residents secretly watching Korean dramas are not uncommon. Recently, a defector revealed that after watching Korean dramas, she made the daring decision to escape North Korea.
In the previous report by “Chosun Ilbo,” the woman in her twenties testified at a conference for the “2024 North Korean Human Rights Report” last month, stating that she frequently watched Korean TV dramas and shows while in North Korea, all purchased from Chinese individuals.
She mentioned popular Korean TV dramas among young North Koreans, including “Winter Sonata,” “Autumn in My Heart,” “Gentleman’s Dignity,” “Itaewon Class,” “Descendants of the Sun,” “What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim,” “Heirs,” and “My Love from the Star.”
By watching Korean TV programs, she said she gained hope and dreams of the outside world and could no longer continue living in North Korea. Eventually, she successfully escaped North Korea with her mother, risking their lives in the process.