Three high school students were executed in early October this year on suspicion of watching a South Korean drama in North Korea and disseminating it in large quantities. In December 2020, North Korea enacted the Reactionary Thought and Culture Elimination Act, which stipulates that anyone who infiltrates or circulates South Korean videos will be punished with a maximum penalty of death. However, it is believed that the execution of minors was done as a warning because the Hallyu wave has continued to spread even after the enactment of this law.
According to multiple sources familiar with North Korea’s internal affairs, in early October this year..
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Three high school students were executed in early October this year on suspicion of watching a South Korean drama in North Korea and disseminating it in large quantities. In December 2020, North Korea enacted the Reactionary Thought and Culture Elimination Act, which stipulates that anyone who infiltrates or circulates South Korean videos will be punished with a maximum penalty of death. However, it is believed that the execution of minors was done as a warning because the Hallyu wave has continued to spread even after the enactment of this law.
According to multiple sources familiar with the internal affairs of North Korea, in early October this year, three male students at a high school in Hyesan City, Yanggang Province, near the China-North Korea border, watched a South Korean drama and an American drama multiple times. It is said that he was caught for spreading it to friends around him. The above source said, “Since the law against reactionary ideology and culture was enacted, he was executed even though he was a high school student in accordance with the central government’s order to set an example by executing him and sounding the alarm.” In North Korea, even if a minor commits a serious crime, the enforcement of the law is suspended until he or she becomes an adult, but this time it was different.
According to North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun, officials from the judiciary, prosecution, security, and security fields gathered in Pyongyang in September to hold a convention to discuss the strict enforcement of the “Reactionary Thought and Culture Elimination Act.” . Even though the law is enforced, it seems that strict enforcement of the law was required at the tournament, as light punishments such as fines and labor training camps have continued since the exposure.
However, it is said that North Korean residents still watch South Korean content. According to the “2022 Survey on the Use of External Information by North Korean Residents” released on the 18th of last month by Unification Media, an incorporated association, despite the control of the authorities, Korean dramas such as “Squid Game” and “Crash Landing on You” and overseas 96% of respondents said they watched the content.
Reporter Kim Myung-sung
Chosun Ilbo / Chosun Ilbo Japanese version
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