Communist govt in North Korea executes 3 minors for watching K-Dramas

Hyesan, Dec 06: The North Korean communist government has reportedly executed two teenagers for watching and circulating South Korean drama shows among their friends, media outlet Radio Free Asia quoted two eyewitnesses as confirming.

The teenagers aged between 16 and 17 were shot down in front of the public by a firing squad at an airfield in the city even as residents were forced to watch the heinous act. Reportedly, the two youths were caught trying to sell flash drives by authorities.

"They said, 'Those who watch or distribute South Korean movies and dramas, and those who disrupt social order by murdering other people, will not be forgiven and will be sentenced to the maximum penalty-death'," RFA quoted a resident of the city of Hyesan, on the border with China, where the execution took place, as saying.

A week before the execution, authorities had decided to harshly punish the crimes involving foreign media. It has to be noted that foreign media the mass media in North Korea is among the most strictly controlled in the world.

In recent years, there have been concerns in North Korea over the growing influence of South Korea on youths. In 2020, the government announced that people who are found in possession of South Korean media or art will be sentenced to 15 years in prison under North Korea's new anti-reactionary thoughts law.

It may be recalled that a man was sentenced to death for smuggling the South Korean Netflix series 'Squid Game' on USB through China. He had also sold the copies to seven high school students. The student who took the USP was given a life sentence while five others were sentenced to five years of hard labour.

Reports claimed that South Korean shows are smuggled on flash drives and people watch them behind closed doors from getting caught.