People in North Korea are being publicly executed for watching South Korean TV shows such as Squid Game and listening to K-pop, according to new findings by Amnesty International.The human rights group said even schoolchildren are being harshly punished for consuming media from South Korea. Testimonies from people who escaped the country reveal that young children are sometimes forced to watch public executions as a warning against accessing foreign content.
Amnesty said punishments depend heavily on wealth and social status. Poorer citizens face the most severe penalties, including death, while those from influential or wealthy families can sometimes avoid execution by bribing officials.
"These testimonies show how North Korea is enforcing dystopian laws that mean watching a South Korean TV show can cost you your life - unless you can afford to pay," said Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director.
"The authorities criminalize access to information in violation of international law, then allow officials to profit off those fearing punishment. This is repression layered with corruption, and it most devastates those without wealth or connections."
Despite strict laws, South Korean media continues to enter North Korea. Popular dramas such as Crash Landing on You, as well as global hits like Squid Game and K-pop music by bands including BTS, are still secretly watched.
In 2021, a student who smuggled copies of Squid Game into North Korea from China was executed by firing squad. Others who watched the show were reportedly sentenced to life imprisonment or years of hard labour, according to Radio Free Asia.
North Korea's 2020 "Law on the Elimination of Reactionary Thought and Culture" was introduced to block foreign influence, with a strong focus on South Korean entertainment.
According to Amnesty International, 2020 Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Act defines South Korean content as "rotten ideology that paralyzes the people's revolutionary sense", enables these severe punishments to persist.
The new law mandates between five and 15 years of forced labour for watching or possessing South Korean dramas, films or music and prescribes heavy sentences including the death penalty for the distribution of "large amounts" of content or for organizing group viewings.
