North Korea is 'executing' its own citizens for this offence. Here's why

New testimony from North Korean defectors suggests that citizens, including teenagers, have been executed for watching South Korean TV dramas such as Squid Game, as well as for listening to K-pop music, according to Amnesty International. Based on 25 in-depth interviews with people who escaped the country, Amnesty describes a society where exposure to foreign culture is treated as a grave political crime. The organisation says punishments range from years in labour camps to public executions, with enforcement often shaped by corruption and social class.

Several interviewees reported hearing about executions of high school students in Yanggang Province after they were caught watching Squid Game. Similar incidents were previously reported in North Hamgyong Province in 2021, where a person was allegedly executed for distributing South Korean media. Amnesty says accounts from multiple regions point to a pattern rather than isolated cases.

Defectors also spoke of the dangers of listening to South Korean pop music, with BTS specifically mentioned. In one reported case, teenagers in South Pyongan Province were investigated after being caught listening to the band. Wealth, interviewees said, often determines survival. Those with money or political connections can bribe officials to escape punishment, while poorer citizens face the harshest consequences. Some families reportedly sold their homes to raise thousands of dollars to avoid being sent to so-called “re-education” or labour camps.

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One defector, Choi Suvin, who left North Korea in 2019, said penalties are applied unevenly. “For the same offence, the outcome depends entirely on how much money you have,” she said, adding that bribes of up to $10,000 were sometimes required to avoid detention. Another escapee, Kim Joonsik, said he was caught watching South Korean dramas three times but avoided punishment because of family connections. By contrast, three of his sister’s classmates were sentenced to long terms in labour camps because their families could not pay bribes.

Public executions were described as a deliberate tool of intimidation. Several interviewees said schoolchildren were forced to attend executions as part of ideological training. One woman recalled tens of thousands of residents being ordered to watch an execution in Sinuiju for the alleged distribution of foreign media.

Amnesty’s deputy regional director, Sarah Brooks, said the testimonies reveal a system that combines repression with corruption. “Watching a TV show can cost you your life, unless you can afford to pay,” she said, adding that North Korea’s restrictions violate international human rights law. The crackdown is rooted in the 2020 Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Act, which labels South Korean media as corrupting ideology. Under the law, consuming such content can result in five to 15 years of forced labour, while distributing it may lead to execution.

Fifteen interviewees described raids by a special police unit known as the “109 Group,” which searches homes and inspects phones without warrants. One defector recalled officers openly demanding bribes, warning that they needed to pay superiors to protect themselves. Amnesty says the regime’s fear of outside information has trapped the population in an “ideological cage,” where curiosity, entertainment, and free expression are met with extreme punishment.