Kim Jong Un’s government imposes strict controls on its citizens, including severe penalties for accessing South Korean media. Recent reports from South Korean sources indicate that approximately 30 middle school students were publicly executed for watching South Korean dramas, which were smuggled into North Korea on USB drives by defectors. These actions are reportedly enforced under North Korea’s laws against consuming foreign media, such as the Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act.
While the details remain unverified independently, experts suggest that intensified crackdowns on information flow, initially under COVID-19 pretexts, make such reports plausible.
This incident reflects ongoing human rights concerns in North Korea, where even minor infractions related to foreign cultural influences can lead to severe punishments, including public executions.
