North Korea executes 7 for enjoying 'perverse' K-pop music banned by Kim Jong-un
Defectors may claim that even North Korea has a music industry that has girl groups like K-pop’s Girls’ Generation. And K-dramas like ‘Crash Landing On You’ may have shown that North Koreans do have a certain degree of freedom to enjoy little things like music. However, the country is still keeping a close eye on those who might be influenced by South Korea, their pop culture and ‘capitalistic greed’. In fact, it has been reported that seven people have been killed in the last decade for watching and selling K-pop videos like those of BTS and Blackpink.
Last month, there were reports that a North Korean had been sentenced to death after he had smuggled copies of the popular K-drama ‘Squid Game’ to seven high school students. And now, there are reports that the country has publicly executed at least seven people for watching and/or selling K-pop videos to North Koreans in the last decade. The killings were documented by a human rights group from South Korea in their latest report and fact-checked by Fox News.
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North Korea has had 7 public executions related to K-pop
The Transitional Justice Working Group, the South Korean NGO released a report titled ‘Mapping Killings Under Kim Jong-Un’ as they documented all the known killings that have taken place under the leadership of the North Korean ruler. They claim to have uncovered seven public executions that took place in the country since 2012. These executions allegedly were conducted due to the individuals’ involvement in spreading and indulging in South Korea’s K-pop industry.
The NGO reported that they found out about the executions due to the fact that they were done in public to warn others about the consequences of listening to K-pop and watching related videos. According to defectors, North Korea goes to extreme lengths to make sure that their ‘Hermit Kingdom’ is not sullied by capitalistic ventures like K-pop that might turn North Koreans against the ideologies of their own country. The report of the seven public executions in fact was fact-checked and recorded with the help of 638 North Korean defectors.
K-pop a 'vicious cancer'
South Korean citizens and defectors have found it quite odd since there are reports of girl groups formed with Kim Jong Un personally handpicking the girl group members. In the last few years, there have also been efforts of reconciling between the two countries. In fact, during such meetings between the two countries, K-pop groups like Red Velvet have performed in North Korea in front of Kim Jong Un who was 'deeply moved' by their performance.
North Korea also has famous bands like the all-female band The Moranbong Band. Defectors have also claimed that despite these harsh rules, there are still K-pop fans in the country with some of the most popular artists being K-pop groups like Girls' Generation and BTS, popular idol PSY, and ballad and trot soloists like Jang Yoon-jung and Oh Seung-geun.
However, there have continually been campaigns for eradicating K-pop from North Korea with the North Korean leader outrightly calling the music industry a “vicious cancer”. Harsher penalties like imprisonment and hard labor have been given to those who have been caught listening to or watching K-pop videos. The K-pop smugglers will be executed with the latest alleged execution taking place in May 2021. Kim Jong Un claims his motive comes from the fact that the music industry’s “attire, hairstyles, speeches, behaviors” is corrupting the youths of North Korea who are being influenced by the “perverse” K-pop music.
