22-Year-Old Boy Publicly Executed for Watching K-pop Videos in North Korea
The stark realities of life in North Korea often remain shrouded in secrecy and fear, but recent reports from defectors shed light on the extreme measures the regime takes to maintain control over its population. According to the 2024 Report on North Korean Human Rights released by South Korea’s unification ministry, a chilling incident underscores Pyongyang’s ruthless crackdown on cultural imports. In a harrowing case detailed in the report, a 22-year-old from South Hwanghae province was publicly executed in 2022 for the crime of consuming South Korean music and films. This young man, whose identity remains anonymous, was accused of listening to 70 South Korean songs, watching three films, and even sharing them—a violation deemed severe under North Korean law. North Korea's draconian laws, particularly those enacted since 2020, prohibit what they label as "reactionary ideology and culture," aiming to shield the populace from outside influences perceived as threatening ...
