Execution for Entertainment: The High Price of K-Dramas in North Korea

​SEOUL — In what human rights monitors are calling a “dystopian” escalation of state control, new testimonies from North Korean escapees reveal that the Kim Jong Un regime is carrying out public executions of citizens—including schoolchildren—for the “crime” of consuming South Korean media.

​A groundbreaking report released this week by Amnesty International details a terrifying landscape where watching a single episode of Squid Game or listening to K-pop hits by bands like BTS can result in a death sentence. The report, based on interviews with dozens of defectors, paints a grim picture of the 2020 Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Act in action.

​A System of “Ideological Education”

​According to the findings, the North Korean state is not merely punishing individuals but using their deaths as a psychological tool. One defector recounted a public execution in Sinuiju where tens of thousands were forced to gather.

​”Authorities told everyone to go… They execute people to brainwash and educate us,” the witness stated. “It’s ideological education: if you watch, this happens to you too.”

​Perhaps most harrowing are the accounts of middle school students being systematically forced to witness these firing squads. Human rights groups argue this constitutes a grave violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a treaty North Korea has technically ratified.

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​Justice Only for the Wealthy

​The report also exposes a deep-seated layer of corruption within the crackdown. While the law mandates five to 15 years of forced labor for possession of foreign media, the “ultimate penalty” is often reserved for those without political clout or the funds to pay exorbitant bribes.

​Testimonies suggest that “settling” a K-pop-related arrest can cost between $5,000 and $15,000—a fortune in a country plagued by food shortages. Those who cannot pay are often sent to “re-education” camps or face the firing squad to meet state-mandated quotas for “anti-socialist” purges.

​Why Now?

​Analysts suggest the regime’s desperation stems from the “soft power” of South Korean culture, which directly contradicts state propaganda. By labeling South Korean content as “rotten ideology,” Pyongyang is attempting to seal its borders against an information influx that threatens the Kim family’s absolute narrative.

​Amnesty International has called on the North Korean government to immediately repeal the 2020 Act and establish a moratorium on the death penalty. For now, however, the simple act of pressing “play” remains one of the most dangerous gestures in the world.