January 19, 2024 4:45 am
image copyrightSANDS Institute
A video obtained by BBC Korean (Korean) reporters showed that two male North Korean teenagers were publicly tried for watching Korean dramas and were later sentenced to 12 years of labor.
The rare footage, which appears to have been filmed in 2022, shows two 16-year-old boys being handcuffed in front of hundreds of students in an open-air stadium. Uniformed officials reprimanded the two men for not “profoundly recognizing their mistakes.”
South Korean entertainment programs are banned in North Korea. Still, North Koreans risk severe punishment to watch popular Korean dramas.
Videos like this are very rare. North Korea prohibits domestic photos, videos and life-related records from being exported abroad.
This video was provided by a South Korean research organization called “North-South Development”, which is dedicated to work related to North Korean defectors.
The video shows North Korean authorities taking an increasingly harsh approach to such incidents. The video, which originated in North Korea, is said to be for ideological education and to warn citizens not to watch “decadent videos.”
The voiceover in the video repeatedly emphasizes the slogan, “The corrupt puppets even spread culture to children” and “They are only 16 years old and their future is ruined.”
The names and addresses of the two boys were also released by officials.
In the past, North Korean children who violated such laws were usually sent to youth labor camps instead of being sentenced to prison. The punishment period was generally no more than five years.
In 2020, Pyongyang passed a law making watching or distributing South Korean entertainment programs punishable by death.
A North Korean defector once told the BBC that he was forced to execute a 22-year-old youth. The people who were shot were for listening to Korean music and sharing Korean movies with their friends.
The person in charge of “North-South Development” said that Pyongyang regards Korean dramas and K-pop music as a threat to its own ideology.
“Admiration for South Korean society can quickly lead to the weakening of the system… This is contrary to North Korea’s totalitarian ideology and worship of the Kim family.”
Since the beginning of the new millennium, South Korea has introduced policies to provide unconditional economic and humanitarian assistance to North Korea, and has also given neighboring countries access to its entertainment and cultural products.
Seoul ended this policy in 2010, arguing that the aid did not benefit the ordinary people they hoped to help and had no positive effect on Pyongyang’s behavior. However, South Korea’s entertainment and cultural products have since been spread to North Korea through China.
One North Korean defector told the BBC: “You can escape arrest by paying bribes for watching American dramas, but watching Korean dramas may lead to the death penalty.”
“For North Koreans, Korean dramas are a kind of medicine that helps them forget their difficulties.”
“In North Korea, people understand that life in South Korea is not as good as ours. But the content in Korean dramas is completely different. The North Korean authorities are very wary of this,” said another female defector in her 20s.
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2024-01-19 04:52:18
