A recent report has revealed the public execution of a 22-year-old North Korean man for watching and sharing South Korean films and music. This incident underscores Pyongyang’s stringent efforts to curb the influx of external information and culture. The execution took place in 2022, as detailed in the 2024 Report on North Korean Human Rights, released by South Korea’s unification ministry on Thursday. The report compiles testimonies from 649 North Korean defectors.
According to an unnamed defector, the young man from South Hwanghae province was executed for listening to 70 South Korean songs, watching three films, and distributing them. These actions violated a North Korean law, enacted in 2020, that bans “reactionary ideology and culture.” This incident highlights the regime’s extensive efforts to control the flow of outside information, particularly targeting the youth.
The report also documents other crackdowns on “reactionary” practices, such as brides wearing white dresses, grooms carrying the bride, wearing sunglasses, or drinking alcohol from wine glasses—customs perceived as South Korean. Additionally, mobile phones are frequently inspected for South Korean-influenced contact name spellings, expressions, and slang terms. Despite the shared language between the two Koreas, subtle differences have emerged since their division following the Korean War (1950-53).
The ban on K-pop is part of a broader campaign to shield North Koreans from the “malign” influence of Western culture, a policy initiated under former leader Kim Jong-il and intensified under his son, Kim Jong-un. In 2022, the US government-funded Radio Free Asia reported that the regime was cracking down on “capitalist” fashion and hairstyles, targeting skinny jeans, T-shirts with foreign words, and dyed or long hair.
Experts suggest that the infiltration of South Korean popular culture could threaten the ideology demanding absolute loyalty to the “infallible” Kim dynasty, which has ruled North Korea since its founding in 1948. Despite harsh measures, the influence of South Korean culture, including recent television shows, appears unstoppable.
A recent North Korean defector described the rapid spread of South Korean culture in North Korea, stating, “Young people follow and copy South Korean culture, and they really love anything South Korean.” The woman, who defected from North Korea in her early 20s, added that even with the border to China largely sealed off since the Covid-19 outbreak, information continues to seep through informal networks.
In retaliation against South Korean activists launching balloons with anti-Pyongyang leaflets, dollar bills, and USB sticks loaded with K-pop and K-dramas, North Korea has sent thousands of balloons over the border containing waste. The defector also revealed the hidden resentment against the regime, stating, “Of course, we cannot say anything bad against Kim Jong-un publicly, but among close friends, lovers, or family members, we do say those words.”
Her testimony sheds light on the growing discontent among North Koreans exposed to South Korean culture, with many questioning their way of life and expressing a desire for change.