US EditionAmnesty: North Korea Executes People for Watching K-Dramas
Amnesty International reports North Korea punishes South Korean media viewers with executions, labor camps, and public humiliations, with bribes affecting outcomes, based on testimonies from 25 escapees.
- On Wednesday, Amnesty International reported North Korea executes and severely punishes people caught watching South Korean and other foreign media, based on 25 escapees interviewed in 2025.
- Under the 2020 Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Act, South Korean content is defined as `rotten ideology` and mandates forced labour sentences of five to 15 years, with the death penalty for large-scale distribution.
- A specialized `109 Group` conducts warrantless searches while security officials solicit bribes, with families selling homes to raise 5,000 or 10,000 USD to avoid harsh penalties.
- Amnesty urged the North Korean government to repeal laws criminalizing access to information and to abolish the death penalty for such offences, but has received no response.
- A follow-up U.N. human-rights assessment found no improvement, aligning with Amnesty's findings, while COVID-19 border closures sharply reduced escapes, framing recent testimonies.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Poor North Koreans face harsher penalties for watching K-dramas: Report
Impoverished North Koreans who are unable to afford bribes face the harshest punishments if caught watching South Korean TV shows, according to testimonies collected by the nongovernmental organization Amnesty International. The human rights group reported on Wednesday that the punishment for consuming South Korean dramas varies depending on the amount paid in bribes, citing new […]
N. Koreans executed for watching S. Korean TV
North Koreans caught watching South Korean television face public executions or years in labor camps, with the harshest punishments reserved for those unable to afford bribes, according to a new Amnesty International report released Feb. 4. Based on 25 interviews with escapees who fled between 2012 and 2020, the report describes an arbitrary system where wealthy individuals pay $5,000 to $10,000… Source
North Korea Publicly Executes Citizens Caught Watching ‘Squid Game’
The consumption of South Korean media, like popular K-dramas including Squid Game and the globally celebrated K-pop music, invites extreme punishments in North Korea. The punishments come in the form of being sent to labour camps, being publicly humiliated, and sometimes even d**th. In a new testimony documentation by human rights organization Amnesty International, those who managed to escape the regime of Kim Jong Un expressed that the supreme…
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