North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's regime executed children and others for watching the South Korean television series "Squid Game" and other foreign media, Amnesty International said in a report released this week.
Amnesty's investigation, based on interviews with defectors and witnesses, found that people in North Korea face severe and sometimes fatal punishment for consuming banned South Korean dramas, films, and music, with the harshest penalties falling on those unable to bribe officials.
"Watching a South Korean TV show can cost you your life, unless you can afford to pay," said Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks.
She added that the government criminalizes access to information in violation of international law while allowing officials to profit by extracting bribes from those who fear punishment — a "repression layered with corruption" that most devastates those without wealth or connections.
Brooks said North Koreans have been placed in an "ideological cage" because of the regime's fear of information.
"This completely arbitrary system, built on fear and corruption, violates fundamental principles of justice and internationally recognized human rights. It must be dismantled," she added.
According to Amnesty, escapees reported that violations of the state's strict media ban can result in public execution, long prison sentences, or forced labor, and that children have been forced to attend executions as part of ideological "education."
South Korean dramas such as "Squid Game," "Crash Landing on You," and "Descendants of the Sun," are widely consumed despite the risks.
"Squid Game" is a South Korean survival drama that became a global phenomenon after its release on Netflix.
North Korea is one of the world's most repressive states under Kim Jong Un, with virtually no free press or independent media and harsh penalties for dissent.
Capital punishment remains legal there and has been used for a range of offenses, including alleged consumption of foreign media, according to human rights research.
The Amnesty findings add to longstanding international concerns about human rights abuses in North Korea, where information is tightly controlled and access to outside culture is severely restricted.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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