North Korea has executed citizens, including schoolchildren, for watching South Korean television dramas such as Squid Game and listening to K-pop music, Amnesty International has revealed.
In a scathing report based on testimonies from North Korean escapees, the global human rights organisation described a harsh system of repression in which access to foreign media is treated as a serious crime, sometimes punishable by death. Amnesty noted that penalties are often influenced by an individual’s wealth and political connections.
According to the report, those caught consuming South Korean content face arbitrary punishments ranging from years of forced labour to public execution. In several cases, children were allegedly forced to witness executions as a deterrent against exposure to foreign culture.
Amnesty said poorer citizens are more likely to be executed or imprisoned for long periods, while wealthier individuals are often able to escape severe punishment by bribing security officials.
“These testimonies show how North Korea is enforcing dystopian laws where watching a South Korean TV show can cost you your life — unless you can afford to pay,” said Amnesty’s Deputy Regional Director, Sarah Brooks.
“The authorities criminalise access to information in violation of international law, then allow officials to profit from people’s fear. This is repression layered with corruption.”
The organisation said it conducted 25 in-depth interviews with defectors who fled the country between 2019 and 2020. Several interviewees reported hearing of high school students being executed in Yanggang Province for watching Squid Game, with similar incidents allegedly occurring in North Hamgyong Province in 2021.
In one widely reported case, a student who smuggled copies of Squid Game into North Korea from China in 2021 was executed by firing squad, according to Radio Free Asia. Others who merely watched the series were reportedly sentenced to life imprisonment or years of hard labour.
The crackdown is carried out under the 2020 Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Act, which labels South Korean media as “rotten ideology” that undermines revolutionary values. Under the law, watching or possessing such content attracts five to 15 years of forced labour, while distributing large quantities or organising group viewings can lead to the death penalty.
Escapees also described the operations of a special security unit known as the “109 Group,” which conducts warrantless searches of homes and mobile devices in search of foreign media.
One defector recalled an officer saying, “We don’t want to punish you harshly, but we need to bribe our bosses to save our own lives.”
Despite the severe risks, South Korean dramas and K-pop reportedly continue to circulate across the country through USB drives smuggled in from China. Interviewees said foreign media consumption is widespread, even among officials tasked with enforcing the bans.
“Workers watch it openly, party officials watch it proudly, security agents watch it secretly, and police watch it safely,” one escapee said. “Everyone knows everyone watches.”
Amnesty said public executions are routinely used as tools of “ideological education,” with students and entire communities forced to attend.
“They execute people to brainwash and educate us,” a former resident said.
Brooks described North Korea as an “ideological cage,” where the population is deliberately isolated through fear, violence and corruption.
“This completely arbitrary system violates fundamental principles of justice and internationally recognised human rights,” she said. “It must be dismantled.”
