22-year-old North Korean man publicly executed for listening and sharing K-pop

North Korean boy publicly executed for listening to, sharing K-pop

A 22-year-old farm worker was publicly executed in North Korea in 2022 for listening to and sharing K-pop, according to the “2024 North Korea Human Rights Report” released by South Korea on June 27. Several international media outlets, including Le Parisien, reported on the tragedy.

First performance confirmed for consumption of South Korean music

The case represents the first confirmed instance of execution for listening to South Korean music, at a time when Kim Jong Un’s regime has been imposing increasingly strict laws against outside influences. The report, based on the testimony of 649 North Korean refugees, found that the young man had listened to about 70 songs and watched three South Korean films.

Crackdown on South Korean cultural influence

In North Korea, the consumption of Western content, particularly from South Korea, is severely punished. The execution is part of a crackdown aimed at eradicating South Korean cultural influence, reinforced by a 2020 law banning “reactionary ideology and culture.” Penalties for those who upload or share foreign content can be as high as 10 years of forced labor, but sentences are generally harsher for South Korean content.

Other repressive practices

Other practices considered “reactionary” are also punished, such as wearing white dresses to weddings or using wine glasses for alcohol. North Korean authorities closely monitor citizens’ cell phones for the use of “suspicious” terms or foreign influences. For example, the use of the word “appa” (“daddy” in South Korean) is prohibited, the proper term in North Korea being “abeoji.”

Reactions to South Korean Culture and Regional Tensions

According to a North Korean defector quoted by the Guardianthe rapid influence of South Korean culture has raised questions among young North Koreans, who wonder why they must live under such a repressive regime. In response to South Korean balloons carrying propaganda and K-pop, North Korea recently launched hundreds of balloons filled with trash toward the South.