Amnesty International has collected testimonies from North Korean escapees alleging that the regime is carrying out public executions—including of teenagers—for watching or distributing South Korean entertainment, such as the popular Netflix series Squid Game.
According to the accounts, those caught consuming media from South Korea or the United States face extreme punishment under a 2020 law titled the "Elimination of Reactionary Thought and Culture," which permits the death penalty. Escapees describe instances where high school students were executed after being caught watching banned content, while wealthier individuals could sometimes avoid severe penalties by paying bribes.
The testimonies also reveal a widespread culture of secrecy and hypocrisy, with many officials and security agents themselves consuming the same media they punish others for watching. One escapee noted, "Everyone knows everyone watches, including those who do the crackdowns."
Public executions are reportedly used as a deterrent, with residents—including schoolchildren—sometimes forced to attend as part of "ideological education." In one case described by a defector, tens of thousands were gathered to witness an execution intended as a warning.
This is not the first time such extreme measures have been reported. In 2021, Radio Free Asia documented a case where a man was sentenced to death for smuggling copies of Squid Game into the country, while students caught with the content received lengthy prison or labor camp sentences.
Amnesty’s findings highlight the severe restrictions on cultural freedom in North Korea and the brutal enforcement of laws designed to isolate its population from foreign influence.
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