A seldom-seen video from North Korea, obtained by the BBC and believed to be filmed in 2022, unveils a startling scene where two teenagers are sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for watching South Korean “K-dramas.” The footage depicts the boys, aged 16, being handcuffed on a stage while a silent audience of hundreds of children observes in what appears to be a stadium.
In North Korea, consuming or distributing foreign media, particularly from South Korea, is regarded as a grave offense. The narrator in the video, referring to South Korea, states, “The rotten puppet regime’s culture has spread even to teenagers,” adding, “They are just 16 years old, but they ruined their own future.”
Such videos are rare due to North Korea’s strict prohibition on the release of images portraying life within the country. However, this particular footage has been circulated internally to caution citizens against viewing what the regime deems “decadent recordings,” according to the BBC.
In 2020, North Korea implemented the “Reactionary Thought and Culture Denunciation” law, imposing severe penalties, including imprisonment and death, for watching or distributing entertainment from “enemy countries.” The law also extends to outlawing international cellphone services and speaking South Korean slang.
Despite the strict regulations, K-dramas, with globally acclaimed titles like “Squid Games” and “All of Us Are Dead,” have found an underground fan base in North Korea. People can access these dramas through CDs, VHS tapes, streaming services, and DVDs.
“In North Korea, we learn that South Korea lives much worse than us, but when you watch South Korean dramas, it’s a completely different world,” mentioned a young North Korean defector in an interview with the BBC.
The video was shared with the BBC by the South and North Development (SAND), a research institute working with defectors from North Korea. Choi Kyong-hui, the institute’s CEO, explained that Pyongyang perceives its citizens consuming South Korean entertainment as a threat to the established system, challenging the monolithic ideology that reveres the Kim family.
A North Korean defector emphasized the severity of punishment for watching South Korean media compared to other foreign content, stating, “If you get caught watching an American drama, you can get away with a bribe, but if you watch a Korean drama, you get shot.”
