North Korea has been a nation of much controversy for decades, and when you learn of what you can be punished for – you might see why human rights groups speak out.
North Korea, which borders its fractured South Korea (SK) neighbour, is reportedly a world apart despite being so close.
With a nation completely run by its government, which controls every aspect of life, it is a far cry from SK’s technological advancement, freedom of expression, tourism and Korean drama show (K-dramas) popularity.
In recent years, the UN Human Rights Office found that over the past decade of being under the rule of Kim Jong Un, the North Korean state had tightened control over ‘all aspects of citizens’ lives’.
“No other population is under such restrictions in today’s world,” it claimed, per the BBC.
Life in North Korea isn’t easy, per reports (Korean Central News Agency)
Previously, the OHCHR published a 10-year review of human rights during Kim Jong Un’s rule, which found that the death penalty, repression, and isolation had increased since 2020.
In North Korea, where the government controls all media, anything from being found with unsanctioned phones, computers, televisions, or radios is a crime.
But the distribution of illegal foreign media is a crime punishable by death.
Particularly media of South Korean influence.
In March of last year, authorities reportedly arrested two people in Haeju city for watching South Korean television shows and because of the offense, they face up to five years of forced labor.
But that’s not all.
According to Amnesty International, North Koreans caught watching South Korean television shows could face a number of punishments that range from public humiliation, to years in labour camps or even execution.
However, according to sources, the punishments are based on a class system – with those most loyal to the regime less likely to be harshly punished than those from a lowly home.
The country is supposedly heavily restricted (Korean Central News Agency)
BBC Korea reported that in 2024, video circulated North Korea of teenagers being handcuffed by police in public to shame them for accessing and distributing K-dramas.
The video includes a narrator who is repeating state propaganda.
“The rotten puppet regime’s culture has spread even to teenagers,” says the voice in the footage that was reportedly filmed in 2022.
“They are just 16 years old, but they ruined their own future,” it adds.
Allegedly, the two teens were sentenced to 12 years of hard labour for the crime.
Per the outlet, the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, passed a law in 2020, to make watching or distributing South Korean entertainment punishable by death.
Prior to that, the laws were reportedly more relaxed, but not something you’d want to happen to you.
According to the South and North Development charity CEO, Kyong-hui, Pyongyang sees the spread of K-dramas and Korean music as a threat to its ideology – which allegedly spreads misinformation about how South Koreans live.
“Admiration for South Korean society can soon lead to a weakening of the system… This goes against the monolithic ideology that makes North Koreans revere the Kim family,” she said.
“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,” a reported North Korean defector told BBC Korea.
“For North Korean people, Korean dramas are a ‘drug’ that helps them forget their difficult reality,” they added.
“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. It seems like the North Korean authorities are wary of that,” said another alleged North Korean defector, per the outlet.
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