North Korean Teens Sentenced to Hard Labor for Watching South Korean Dramas

News has emerged that two teenage boys in North Korea have been sentenced for watching a South Korean drama.

The BBC reported that they had secured a rare video of two teenage boys in North Korea being sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for watching Korean dramas. The video was sourced from the SAND Research Institute of South Korea, which works with North Korean defectors.

The video released by the BBC shows two adult men handcuffing two young students in front of hundreds of students staring ahead. The BBC explained, “This video, which appears to have been filmed in 2002, shows two 16-year-old boys standing in front of hundreds of students in handcuffs at an outdoor sports stadium.”

Also, the BBC added that the video shows police officers scolding the students, telling them they are ‘not deeply reflecting.’

According to the BBC, in the past, underage viewers of South Korean dramas were punished with an average sentence of 5 years in prison. Still, since 2020, the law has changed to allow those who watch or distribute South Korean entertainment to be sentenced to death.

In fact, in 2022, a teenager who watched and distributed a South Korean drama was reported to have been executed. In 2023, a trading company employee who watched a South Korean video was shot publicly.

In response, a North Korean defector said, “In North Korea, we find that South Korea is far worse off than us, but if you watch South Korean dramas, it’s a completely different world,” adding, “It seems like the North Korean authorities seem to be wary of that.”

Another defector also suggested that South Korean dramas, described as “medicine that makes you forget the harsh reality,” play a significant role in informing South Korean life in the North.

Meanwhile, the BBC said that despite the end of the “Sunshine Policy” in the 2000s and the cessation of the policy by North Korea in 2010, South Korean entertainment continues to flow into North Korea through China.