Reports shared with Amnesty International and cited by international media indicate that North Korean authorities may be executing or harshly punishing teenagers and other citizens for consuming banned South Korean media — including the global hit series Squid Game and K-pop music — under the regime’s strict ideological censorship laws. These testimonies add to long-standing international concerns about extreme cultural repression and human rights abuses inside the isolated state.
According to the Times of India, the testimony comes from 25 in-depth interviews with North Korean escapees, including individuals who fled the country between 2009 and 2020. Interviewees reported that people, including schoolchildren and teenagers, faced the harshest punishments — including execution — for watching, distributing or possessing foreign media such as Squid Game and K-pop content.
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Testimonies of Execution and Ideological Punishment
In the testimonies shared with Amnesty International, some escapees recounted hearing of executions in provinces such as Yanggang, particularly for those found watching or distributing Squid Game. They also referenced a previous documented execution for media distribution in North Hamgyong Province in 2021, suggesting the issue spans multiple years.
One former North Korean resident quoted in the reports said that students were taken to executions as part of “ideological education,” meant to deter others from consuming foreign cultural material. “When we were 16, 17, in middle school, they took us to executions and showed us everything,” said an interviewee identified as Kim Eunju (40), referencing punishments for watching or distributing South Korean media.
The regime’s Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Act, enacted in 2020, outlaws the possession, viewing or distribution of South Korean dramas, films, music and other cultural content, viewing it as “rotten ideology” that threatens the state’s ideological control. Under this law, watching or possessing such content can carry long prison terms, while distributing large quantities or organizing viewings may result in the death penalty.
Punishment Severity and Social Context
Escapees and defectors have indicated that punishment severity often depends on socioeconomic status or connections within North Korean society. Those with money or influential contacts may be able to pay bribes to avoid the harshest penalties, while poorer citizens — including teenagers and young adults — face the full force of the law for the same offenses.
According to one testimony, a public execution was ordered in Sinuiju (near the Chinese border) in 2017–2018 where tens of thousands of people were reportedly compelled to attend as a form of state intimidation, illustrating how punishments are used as ideological deterrence and control.
International Human Rights Concerns
These reports echo decades of criticism from human rights organisations, United Nations agencies and former defectors regarding the severe restrictions on information, expression and cultural freedom in North Korea. The application of capital punishment — particularly in cases involving children or teenagers accused of consuming non-political entertainment — draws sharp condemnation from rights advocates, who characterise it as a violation of basic human rights norms.
Amnesty International and other groups warn that such extreme punishments reflect the broader repression of free thought and cultural expression in the country, where possession of foreign media — from Korean dramas to international music — is treated as a threat to the regime’s control.
Why This Matters
- Cultural repression: North Korea’s ideological laws categorise exposure to foreign media as a political and cultural threat, enforcing extreme punishments under the Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Act.
- Human rights implications: Reports of executions, forced labour sentences and public executions raise significant concerns about punishment proportionality, due process and treatment of minors.
- Global scrutiny: International human rights bodies continue to monitor and document abuses, advocating for greater transparency and protection of basic freedoms within the isolated state.
While independent verification inside North Korea remains constrained due to state secrecy, testimony from escapees and defectors — along with historical patterns of severe cultural censorship — forms the basis of current reporting on extreme penalties linked to consumption of Squid Game, K-pop and other South Korean media.
About the author – Ayesha Aayat is a law student and contributor covering cybercrime, online frauds, and digital safety concerns. Her writing aims to raise awareness about evolving cyber threats and legal responses.
