Task: North Korea listened to k-pop – was publicly executed

Published 1 July 2024 at 08.26

Foreign. According to a report from South Korea, a 22-year-old man in North Korea has been publicly executed for consuming and spreading South Korean movies and music – so-called k-pop.

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The man, who came from South Hwanghae Province, is said to have been publicly executed in 2022 for violating the law banning “reactionary ideology and culture”.

This is stated in a new report from South Korea's Ministry of Unification, The Guardian reports.

North Korea is trying to prevent the spread of South Korean popular culture, especially among young people, as it is considered degenerate. One is also on guard against foreign influences in language and dress and other pernicious novelties. House searches and checks of mobile phones to find signs of foreign culture have been intensified.

The report is based on over 600 testimonies from refugees. A woman claims three of her relatives were executed for watching South Korean dramas.

North Korea has not commented on the report. Meanwhile, tensions between the two countries have risen after North Korea sent junk balloons across the border and South Korea retaliated by playing k-pop over loudspeakers.