North Korea Executes Schoolchildren for Watching Squid Game, Amnesty International Reveals
Amnesty International has uncovered harrowing testimonies from escapees detailing brutal punishments in North Korea, including the execution of schoolchildren for consuming foreign media such as the hit South Korean drama Squid Game. Based on 25 in-depth interviews with defectors, the report exposes a climate of fear where South Korean culture is treated as a serious crime, with citizens facing death for watching shows or listening to K-pop music.
Multiple Executions Linked to Foreign Media Consumption
Interviewees described how people, including high school students, have been executed for watching Squid Game in provinces like Yanggang, near the Chinese border. Another execution for distributing the show was documented in North Hamgyong Province in 2021. Amnesty International stated that these reports from different regions suggest multiple executions related to South Korean dramas, highlighting the extreme consequences faced by those caught.
Testimonies also reveal the dangers of listening to foreign music, particularly K-pop from South Korea, with popular bands like BTS mentioned. In 2021, a group of teenagers were investigated for listening to BTS in South Pyongan Province, illustrating the regime's crackdown on cultural influences.
Corruption and Inequality in Punishments
The report highlights a stark inequality in how punishments are meted out. Wealthier North Koreans can pay corrupt officials to avoid prosecution, while the less well-off suffer harsher penalties. Choi Suvin, who fled in 2019, explained that people without money might sell their homes to gather thousands of dollars to bribe their way out of re-education camps.
This disparity is further evidenced by cases like Kim Joonsik, who avoided punishment despite being caught three times watching South Korean dramas due to family connections. In contrast, three of his sister's school friends were sentenced to years in labour camps because their families could not afford bribes.
Public Executions as Ideological Education
Interviewees described how schoolchildren and others are forced to attend public executions as part of ideological education. Choi Suvin recalled witnessing an execution in Sinuiju for distributing foreign media, with tens of thousands gathered to watch. Kim Eunju, 40, said authorities use these events to brainwash and educate, warning that watching South Korean media leads to similar fates.
Sarah Brooks, deputy regional director at Amnesty, condemned the system, stating, "These testimonies show how North Korea is enforcing dystopian laws that mean watching a South Korean TV show can cost you your life - unless you can afford to pay." She added that the regime's fear of information has placed the population in an ideological cage, suffocating access to outside views.
Legal Framework and Enforcement
Under North Korea's 2020 Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Act, South Korean content is branded as rotten ideology. Those caught consuming such media face five to 15 years of forced labour, with heavier sentences, including death, for distributing it or organising group viewings. Fifteen interviewees described a specialised police unit, the 109 Group, conducting warrantless searches of homes and personal belongings to hunt for foreign media.
Despite the crackdown, consumption of foreign media remains widespread, with dramas, films, and music smuggled in from China on USB drives. One interviewee noted that even those enforcing the laws, such as security agents and police, secretly watch the content, revealing a pervasive hypocrisy.
Impact of Border Closures and Future Concerns
Most escapees interviewed were aged 15 to 25 when they fled, with the most recent departure in June 2020. Since then, escapes have become rare due to COVID-19 border closures, sealing the country off and potentially intensifying the repression. The testimonies underscore a system built on fear and corruption, violating international human rights and calling for urgent dismantling.
