New testimony from North Korean escapees alleges that people, including schoolchildren, are executed for watching foreign media such as Squid Game and listening to K-pop, as the regime enforces strict cultural controls through fear and violence.
People in North Korea are being executed for consuming foreign media, including popular South Korean television dramas and music, according to fresh testimony obtained by Amnesty International. The human rights organisation said its findings were based on 25 in-depth interviews with escapees who fled the country, describing a climate of fear in which South Korean culture is treated as a serious crime under the regime of Kim Jong-un.
According to the testimonies, watching globally popular dramas such as Squid Game, Crash Landing on You and Descendants of the Sun, or listening to K-pop music by bands like BTS, can attract the harshest punishments, including death. Interviewees said schoolchildren were not spared, with severe penalties imposed to deter others from accessing foreign content seen as threatening to state ideology.
The escapees also claimed that punishment is often unevenly applied, with poorer citizens more likely to face execution or long prison terms, while wealthier North Koreans can allegedly bribe corrupt officials to avoid prosecution. Amnesty International said the accounts highlight deep inequality and systemic repression, as well as the regime’s continued efforts to isolate its population from outside cultural influences.
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North Korea ‘executes schoolchildren for watching Squid Game’ https://t.co/LuT0RIp0vk
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