North Korea: 2 teenagers sentenced to 12 years of hard labour for watching K-Pop

Two teens were publicly sentenced to 12 years of hard labor by North Korean officials for watching K-pop, according to video footage made public by an organization that assists North Korean defectors. The South and North Development (SAND) Institute released the video, which features the two 16-year-old Pyongyang youths found guilty of watching South Korean films and music videos. Since the implementation of a comprehensive new “anti-reactionary thought” law in 2020, North Korea has been enforcing harsh sentences for years on anyone found to be enjoying South Korean entertainment or mimicking South Korean speech in an effort to combat outside influences. “Judging from the heavy punishment, it seems that this is to be shown to people across North Korea to warn them. If so, it appears this lifestyle of South Korean culture is prevalent in North Korean society,” said Choi Kyong-hui, president of SAND and Doctor of Political Science at Tokyo University, who defected from North Korea in 2001. “I think this video was edited around 2022… What is troublesome for (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un is that Millennials and Gen Z young people have changed their way of thinking. I think he’s working on turning it back to the North Korean way,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters. In the film, which was produced by North Korean authorities, two students wearing gray scrubs are handcuffed in front of a large audience in an amphitheater. Given that evthe film, which was produced by North Korean authorities, two students wearing gray scrubs are handcuffed in front of a large audience in an amphitheater. Given that every student in the video—including the two 16-year-olds—wears a face mask, it appears that the video was taken during the COVID pandemic. According to the video, the students were found guilty of watching and disseminating South Korean films, songs, and music videos for three months before receiving their sentences. Despite the fact that their 1950–1953 combat ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty, North Korea and the wealthy, democratic South Korea are still officially at war, with a strongly fortified demilitarized zone separating them (DMZ).