North Korea executes young man for listening to K‑pop
North Korea executed a 22-year-old man for listening to K-pop and watching South Korean movies. This is just one of many pieces of information included in a report on human rights violations in the country governed by Kim Jong-un. "The spread of ideology and culture" of a hostile country is prohibited there.
9:19 AM EDT, June 29, 2024
Information about the public execution of the 22-year-old man appeared in the 2024 report on North Korea concerning human rights violations. The report was published by the South Korean Ministry of Unification and includes testimonies from 649 escapees from North Korea.
One of the aspects highlighted in the report concerns the "import of culture" from South Korea. For this reason, a man from Hwanghae Province was reportedly executed in 2022. The 22-year-old had been exposed to South Korean films and music.
Listened to South Korean music, was killed
According to the testimony of one of the escapees included in the report, the young man had listened to 70 South Korean songs and watched three movies, spreading them. According to local laws, "the spread of ideology and culture" of a hostile country is prohibited.
The report describes in detail the extensive efforts by North Korean authorities to control the flow of information from the outside, especially in the context of youth.
North Korea imposes ban on "enemy" customs
Other mentioned cases include punishments for practices such as brides wearing white dresses, wearing sunglasses, or drinking alcohol from wine glasses - customs perceived as South Korean.
Mobile phones are also monitored in the country to check for spellings perceived as South Korean.
The ban on listening to K-pop is part of a campaign aimed at protecting North Korean residents from the "harmful" influence of Western culture.
Experts say that allowing South Korean popular culture to penetrate North Korean society could pose a threat to the ideology, which requires absolute loyalty to the authorities.
As "The Guardian" notes, many escapees from the country governed by Kim Jong-un talk about a real aversion to the regime, which they must conceal.
— Of course, publicly we cannot say anything bad against Kim Jong-un, but among close ones, we say unflattering words — said one of the women who escaped from the country using a wooden boat in October last year.
— After watching South Korean dramas, many young people wonder: "Why do we have to live like this?" I thought that I would rather die than live in North Korea — she added.
