North Korea executes teens for watching Squid Game and listening to K-Pop

North Korean citizens, including schoolchildren, are being executed for watching South Korean TV shows specified arsenic Squid Game and listening to K-pop, according to caller grounds shared with Amnesty International.The grounds comes from 25 in-depth interviews with North Koreans, including 11 who fled the state betwixt 2009 and 2020, reported the Independent. Most of the interviewees were aged betwixt 15 and 25 astatine the clip they left. Escapees described terrible and humiliating punishments, including decease successful the astir utmost cases, for consuming overseas media.One interviewee said they heard from an escapee with household links that people, including precocious schoolhouse students, had been executed for watching Squid Game successful Yanggang Province, adjacent the Chinese border.

Another execution for distributing the amusement was antecedently documented successful North Hamgyong Province successful 2021. Amnesty said these reports suggest aggregate executions related to the shows.Escapees besides described the dangers of listening to overseas music, peculiarly K-pop, with bands similar BTS cited successful their testimony. In 2021, a radical of teenagers were reportedly investigated for listening to BTS successful South Pyongan Province, adjacent the superior Pyongyang.

In 2020, North Korea introduced the Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Act, which outlawed depletion of South Korean content. The instrumentality mandates 5 to 15 years of forced labour for watching oregon possessing South Korean dramas, music, oregon films, and prescribes the decease punishment for distributing ample amounts of contented oregon organizing radical viewings.Kim Eunju, 40, described witnessing executions arsenic portion of “ideological education.”

“When we were 16, 17, successful mediate school, they took america to executions and showed america everything,” she said. “People were executed for watching oregon distributing South Korean media. It's ideological education: if you watch, this happens to you too.”Choi Suvin, who fled North Korea successful 2019, besides recalled a nationalist execution successful Sinuiju successful 2017 oregon 2018. “Authorities told everyone to go, and tens of thousands of radical from Sinuiju metropolis gathered to watch,” she said. “They execute radical to brainwash and amended us.” She added that radical often merchantability their homes to debar punishment. “People are caught for the aforesaid act, but punishment depends wholly connected money. People without wealth merchantability their houses to stitchery $5,000 oregon $10,000 to wage to get retired of the re-education camps.

”