North Korea has reportedly executed schoolchildren for watching South Korean television shows and listening to K-pop, including the Netflix series “Squid Game.” According to a report by Amnesty International, testimonies from defectors reveal a disturbing pattern of public executions and severe punishments for consuming foreign media deemed illegal by the regime.
The accounts, based on 25 in-depth interviews conducted in 2025 with North Koreans who fled between 2012 and 2020, indicate that teenagers, including middle school students, have faced dire consequences for engaging with banned content. Reports detail incidents in Yanggang Province, near the Chinese border, where high school students were executed for watching the series. Additional documentation from Radio Free Asia confirmed an execution for distributing “Squid Game” in North Hamgyong Province in 2021.
Severe Consequences for Consuming Foreign Media
The crackdown on foreign media consumption has intensified under the rule of Kim Jong Un. The regime implemented the 2020 Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Act, which condemns South Korean media as “rotten ideology that paralyzes the people’s revolutionary sense.” The law prescribes penalties ranging from five to 15 years of forced labor for possessing or watching South Korean dramas, with even harsher punishments, including death, for distribution or organizing group viewings.
Defectors shared that the severity of punishment often hinges on financial status. Choi Suvin, a defector who escaped in 2019, stated, “People are caught for the same act, but punishment depends entirely on money.” He noted that individuals without resources are forced to sell their homes to pay bribes for their release from re-education camps. In contrast, Kim Joonsik, who fled in 2019, described how his family’s connections allowed him to evade punishment after being caught watching South Korean dramas multiple times. “Usually when high school students are caught, if their family has money, they just get warnings,” he explained.
Public Executions and Ideological Education
The testimonies from escapees depict a regime that utilizes public executions as a form of ideological education. Kim Eunju, who escaped in 2019, recounted being forced to attend executions as a child. “When we were 16, 17, in middle school, they took us to executions and showed us everything,” she said. The message was clear: “If you watch, this happens to you too.”
Amnesty International highlighted the role of a specialized police unit known as the “109 Group,” which conducts warrantless home raids and street searches for foreign media. Fifteen interviewees described encounters with this unit, illustrating a climate of fear and repression. One defector recounted officers stating, “We don’t want to punish you harshly, but we need to bribe our bosses to save our own lives.”
Despite the risks, the consumption of foreign media remains pervasive in North Korea. Defectors reported that content is smuggled in from China on USB drives and viewed on notebook computers. “Workers watch it openly, party officials watch it proudly, security agents watch it secretly and police watch it safely,” one interviewee noted.
The brutality faced by those caught consuming foreign media aligns with years of documentation from South Korean officials, UN investigators, and US-funded broadcasters. Reports have consistently highlighted public executions and labor camp sentences for listening to prohibited broadcasts or sharing South Korean films and music. Footage released in early 2024 by CNN depicted two North Korean teenagers receiving lengthy hard labor sentences for watching and distributing South Korean dramas.
“These testimonies show how North Korea is enforcing dystopian laws that mean watching a South Korean TV show can cost you your life — unless you can afford to pay,” stated Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director. The chilling accounts from defectors paint a stark picture of a regime that maintains its power through fear and oppression.
