North Korea Punishes Students for Watching Banned Content, Including 'Squid Game'

Amnesty International has disclosed alarming incidents in North Korea, where certain school students were executed or sent to forced labor camps for watching South Korean television shows or listening to pop music, including the Netflix series "Squid Game."
This information is derived from 25 detailed interviews conducted in 2025 with North Korean defectors who escaped between 2012 and 2020, the majority of whom were aged 15 to 25 at the time of their departure.

Severe Punishments and Public Practices

Survivors reported that students faced public executions or were dispatched to labor camps in regions such as Yanggang and North Hamgyong for displaying or distributing prohibited content.
The organization confirmed that these actions are part of a stringent repressive campaign under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, who implemented the Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Law in 2020, which criminalizes any South Korean content as "corrupt ideology threatening the revolutionary spirit of the people."

The Law and Penalties

The law mandates forced labor for 5 to 15 years for merely watching or possessing Korean films, series, or music, while penalties can escalate to execution for distributing content or organizing group viewings.
The financial status of the family also significantly influences the severity of the punishment; affluent families may receive only warnings, while poorer families endure the harshest consequences.

Survivor Testimonies

Choi Soobin, 39, who fled the country in 2019, stated: "People sell their homes to gather thousands of dollars to escape from re-education camps."
Kim Jong-sik, 28, mentioned that he avoided punishment due to his family's status, while his sister's friends were sent to labor camps for years for being unable to afford bribes.

Cultural and Humanitarian Repression

These practices underscore the significant cultural and intellectual repression in North Korea and their profound impact on youth and society under stringent media control and limitations on freedom of expression.