North Korea executes 30 teens for watching South Korean TV shows: Report

Citing a South Korean government official, local cable channel TV Chosun reported on Thursday that the North Korean authorities publicly shot the middle school students last week.

North Korea executed around 30 middle school students for watching South Korean dramas, as shown in a report from TV Chosun. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

North Korea has reportedly executed around 30 teenage students for watching South Korean dramas.

Citing a South Korean government official, local cable channel TV Chosun reported on Thursday that the North Korean authorities publicly shot the middle school students last week for allegedly watching South Korean dramas stored on USBs.

These USBs allegedly had been sent via balloons by North Korean defector groups from Seoul last month.

The South Korean Unification Ministry declined to confirm the report.

"However, it is widely known that North Korean authorities strictly control and harshly punish residents based on the three so-called 'evil' laws, including the Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act," a ministry official told reporters Thursday under the condition of anonymity.

"The 2024 North Korean Human Rights Report published by the ministry also records cases of executions for watching South Korean dramas," the official added.

The North's Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act, enacted in December 2020, mandates the death penalty for those distributing South Korean media and up to 15 years in prison for viewers.

The law also targets books, songs and photos, with a clause that imposes up to two years of forced labor for using South Korean speech or singing styles.

Last month, to curb the spread of South Korean culture within their borders, North Korean authorities sentenced some 30 teenagers, around 17 years old, to life imprisonment and death.

Earlier this year, a public trial video showed two 16-year-old boys being sentenced to 12 years of forced labor for watching South Korean dramas. The video, produced by North Korean authorities for internal ideological indoctrination, also depicted Pyongyang women being punished for imitating clothing and hairstyles from South Korean dramas.

The 2024 North Korean Human Rights Report includes testimonies from defectors, revealing harsh punishments for residents exposed to South Korean culture or food.

According to the report, North Korean authorities classify wearing a white dress instead of a traditional hanbok at weddings, drinking from wine glasses and wearing sunglasses as "reactionary behavior." Words like appa (dad) and ssaem (teacher) are also prohibited.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]