North Korea Executes 2 Minors For Watching, Sharing Copies of Shows from South, US

According to reports, North Korea murdered two high school students for watching South Korean and American films. Viewing or distributing Korean dramas, or K-dramas is highly prohibited in North Korea.

The two guys, aged 16 and 17, met in October at a school in North Korea's Ryanggang Province and watched various South Korean and American TV productions.

Teens Publicly Executed in North Korea

According to the NDTV, the two teenagers were murdered in front of people at a municipal airfield. The tragedy occurred in October, but the details of the deaths were only revealed last week.

The youngsters met in early October at a high school in Hyesan, Ryanggang Province, North Korea, which shares its border with China, where they watched various Korean and American drama productions, according to South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilba, as per Independent.

Furthermore, a third youngster of the same age was hanged with them for the murder of his stepmother, with people claiming the actions were "equally terrible." The authorities paraded the adolescent students in front of the public, sentenced them to death, and then shot them.

Foreign media, specifically anything labeled "Western," is rigorously restricted in North Korea, which brainwashes its populace to favor the governing party. Kim Jong Un regards South Korea as an American puppet state and is wary of any of its media entering the border.

Despite these restrictions, such things are frequently smuggled into the nation on USB sticks or SD cards. Typically, they are carried across the border from China and bartered among North Koreans.

In order to catch individuals selling the drives, the ruling Communist regime employs spies recruited from the civilian community. One of these spies reported the two adolescents for selling USB drives carrying the programs on the local market.

Such punishments are unusual but not unheard of in North Korea, and are often used to frighten people into compliance when officials are concerned about rule-breaking.

According to one source in Hyesan, North Korean adolescents found watching foreign films fear being transported to a disciplinary labor center. A second offense entails being transferred to a detention facility alongside their parents for five years as punishment for neglecting to discipline their children.

However, anyone caught distributing or selling South Korean films faces the death penalty, even if they are minors, according to the source.

North Korea declared an 11-day mourning period last year to commemorate the death anniversary of Kim Jong Un's father, Kim Jong Il. Citizens were not permitted to laugh, shop, or drink during this time period.

As part of its assault on popular Korean entertainment in the nation, the government outlawed foreign information and influence in 2020. South Korean performances are smuggled on flash drives and viewed behind closed doors to avoid fines, jail, or, in the worst-case scenario, death, Daily Mail reported.

North Korea's Previous Execution Order

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the execution of at least two individuals, stopped fishing at sea, and closed down the capital, Pyongyang, months ago as part of urgent attempts to combat coronavirus and its economic devastation, according to South Korea's intelligence service.

Politicians told reporters after attending a private briefing by the National Intelligence Service that Kim's government also ordered diplomats overseas to refrain from any acts that could provoke the US because it is concerned about President-elect Joe Biden's expected new approach toward North Korea.

North Korea was obliged to close its border with China, its largest economic partner and assistance donor, in January due to the outbreak. The shutdown, along with a succession of natural calamities throughout the summer, inflicted a significant hit to the North's economy, which has been subjected to crushing US-led sanctions.

North Korea's commerce with China totaled 530 million US dollars in the first ten months of this year, or 25% more than the same period last year. Sugar and seasoning prices have increased fourfold.

North Korea monitoring groups in Seoul said that the North Korean won-to-dollar exchange rate has lately decreased dramatically due to a lack of venues to utilize foreign cash after smuggling was mostly shut off following the closure of the China border, according to The Scottish Farmer.