The incident, described in the 2024 Report on Human Rights in North Korea from South Korea’s unification ministry, includes stories from 649 people who escaped from North Korea.
According to a defector who didn't give their name, a young man from South Hwanghae province in North Korea was publicly killed in 2022 for listening to 70 songs from South Korea, watching three movies, and sharing them. He broke a North Korean law made in 2020 that forbids "reactionary thoughts and culture."
The report explains that North Korean authorities are making big efforts to control the flow of information from outside, especially focusing on young people.
Other examples of crackdowns include punishments for behaviors considered "reactionary," such as brides wearing white dresses, grooms carrying brides, wearing sunglasses, or drinking alcohol from wine glasses – all viewed as customs from South Korea.
According to the report, North Korean authorities often check mobile phones for contact names, words, and slang that seem influenced by South Korea. Even though both Koreas speak the same language, differences have developed since they split after the Korean War from 1950 to 1953.
The prohibition on K-pop is part of an effort to protect North Koreans from what is seen as harmful western culture. This campaign started with the former leader, Kim Jong-il, and became stronger under his son, Kim Jong-un.
In 2022, Radio Free Asia, funded by the US government, reported that the North Korean regime was enforcing strict rules against "capitalist" fashion and hairstyles. This included cracking down on skinny jeans, T-shirts with foreign words, and dyed or long hair.
Experts believe that allowing South Korean popular culture to spread in North Korea could endanger the ideology that requires total loyalty to the "infallible" Kim dynasty, which has governed the country since its establishment in 1948.
Despite these strict actions, a recent defector from North Korea suggests that the influence of South Korean culture, including new television shows, continues to grow and cannot be stopped.
"A woman in her early 20s who escaped from North Korea told reporters in Seoul that South Korean culture is spreading quickly in North Korea. She said young people there eagerly adopt and imitate South Korean culture because they really love everything about it."
Even though the border to China has been mostly closed due to Covid-19, information is still leaking out and spreading through informal networks.
Recently, North Korea has floated thousands of balloons across the border in response to balloons launched from the South. The South's balloons carry anti-Pyongyang leaflets, dollar bills, and USB sticks with K-pop and K-dramas.
The defector told reporters that after watching Korean dramas, many young people start questioning why they have to live the way they do in North Korea. She said she felt she would prefer to die than continue living in North Korea.
The woman, who fled North Korea on a wooden boat in October last year, also revealed that there is hidden anger and dissatisfaction toward the government.
She said, "We can't openly criticize Kim Jong-un, but we do speak critically among close friends, partners, or family members."
SOURCE: The Guardian