Still cuts from Netflix’s original ‘Squid Game’ / Photo = Courtesy of Netflix
It is reported that high school students who secretly watched Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ in North Korea were caught by the authorities and sentenced to heavy sentences.
On the 23rd (local time), Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported, “Early last week, seven students from a high school (high school) in Chongjin, North Hamgyeong Province, were caught watching ‘Squid Game’ and were caught by the 109 Commerce Coalition Commander’s censorship.”
According to the report, a resident who smuggled UBS containing Korean dramas from China was shot and sentenced to life imprisonment for those who purchased and watched it, and five years of reform through labor for the rest of the students.
A North Korean source who reported this to the media said, “It happened because the student who bought the USB and his close friend first watched the drama together and then explained it to other friends, and many students became interested.” It was said that he fell ill with the 109th Joint Chiefs of Staff who came in after receiving a report during the process.”
“The principal of the high school to which these students belong, the youth secretary, and the homeroom teacher were dismissed and expelled from the party membership list,” he added.
The North Korean authorities have recently tightened their crackdown and raised the level of punishment as the younger generation’s interest in Korean dramas and K-pop has increased. They enacted the “Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act” last year and foreshadowed strong punishment for those who came in contact with foreign videos, publications, or songs.
Kim Soo-young, reporter at Hankyung.com swimming@hankyung.com
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