according to Amnesty International North Korean residents, including school children, are publicly executed, sent to prison camps, or subjected to brutal public humiliation for watching South Korean TV shows.
The organization writes this on its own website.
Interviewed refugees
Table of Contents
Amnesty will have conducted 25 in-depth interviews with North Korean refugees in 2025.
The group included 11 people who fled North Korea between 2019 and 2020, with the last departure in June 2020.
Most were between 15 and 25 years old at the time of their escape.
Also read: Shoots down the idea of a new defense cooperation: – A misinterpretation
THE DICTATOR: Kim Jong Un is North Korea’s absolute ruler.
Photo: STR/NTB
Serious crime
The interviewees describe a climate of fear where the authorities treat South Korean culture as a serious crime, writes Amnesty.
While wealthy families can in some cases avoid punishment by paying off corrupt officials.
– These interviews show how North Korea enforces dystopian laws that can cost you your life, says Amnesty’s deputy director for the region, Sarah Brooks.
Read also: Contracts for the purchase of missiles and submarines signed
Faster access to content
Amnesty’s interviews show that recent South Korean content reaches North Korea faster than in previous decades.
– An interviewee reported hearing from a defector with family connections in Yanggang Province that people, including high school students, were executed for watching Squid Game, writes Amnesty.

Harseler with Crown Princess Mette-Marit
3:24
date:2026-02-08 22:17:00
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