A human rights organization reports that the North Korean government is executing people on charges of listening to K-pop - South Korean pop.
The Transitional Justice Working Group, which is indirectly supported by the US government, reports that at least seven North Korean citizens have recently died due to their involvement in distributing and listening to the popular music genre that has produced bands like BTS, as well as K-Drama TV series South Koreans such as the "Squid Game".
The information, which emphasized that the executions are being carried out in public for the sake of seeing and being seen, was formulated after the organization spoke with 683 deserters from the isolated country to map out how, where and in what cases dictator Kim Jong-un implements his unimaginable policies.
In fact, it was only a few months ago that Jong-un stated that "k-pop is a cruel cancer that corrupts the country's youth," and has since declared a bitter war on the leakage of cultural influence from South Korea.
However, much content is still being smuggled into North Korea on USB drives, and the dictator fears that "their influence on the younger generation's style of dress, hairstyles and speech weakens his control," the New York Times reported.
Also last December, North Korea enacted laws requiring a person in possession of entertainment media originating in South Korea to be sent to 15 years of hard labor and even executed, while "South Korean-speaking, writing and singing citizens could be sent to two years of hard labor." .
The latest evidence, therefore, suggests that the new laws are indeed being applied more vigorously.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us