North Korea Executes Citizens for Watching K-Pop, K-Dramas: UN Reports Reporter Dewi Rina Cahyani September 13, 2025 | 02:55 pm TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – North Korea has been tightening its grip on its citizens for the past decade. As reported by Al Jazeera, over the past decade, North Korea has executed people for sharing foreign TV dramas, including South Korean dramas or K-dramas and K-pop, according to a United Nations report.The UN’s Office of Human Rights stated on Friday, September 12, 2025, that state-sponsored repression under the Kim Jong Un regime has caused North Korea to develop with suffering, oppression, and increasing fear over the past decade. Kim Jong Un has ruled with absolute power for seven decades. “No other population is under such restrictions in today’s world,” concluded the UN report, which was based on interviews with over 300 witnesses and escapees from the country. According to the source, freedom of speech in North Korea is eroding. “To block the people’s eyes and ears, they strengthened the crackdowns. It was a form of control aimed at eliminating even the smallest signs of dissatisfaction or complaint,” said a fugitive quoted in the report.James Heenan, Head of the UN’s Office of Human Rights for North Korea, stated in Geneva that the number of people executed for ordinary and political crimes has increased since the COVID-era restrictions. An unspecified number of people have been executed based on new laws that impose the death penalty for distributing foreign TV series, including popular K-Dramas from South Korea.This crackdown has been facilitated by the expansion of a “mass surveillance” system through technological advancements, which has placed citizens under control in all aspects of life over the past 10 years, the report noted.Heenan also reported that children are forced to work through a system of forced labor, including the so-called “shock brigades” in difficult sectors such as coal mining and construction.”They’re often children from the lower level of society, because they’re the ones who can’t bribe their way out of it, and these shock brigades are engaged in often very hazardous and dangerous work,” he said.Last year, the UN declared that forced labor could be considered a form of slavery, making it a crime against humanity. This comprehensive review comes more than a decade after a significant UN report documented executions, rape, torture, deliberate starvation, and the detention of between 80,000 and 120,000 people in prison camps.The new report covers developments since 2014. The UN noted the implementation of new government laws, policies, and procedures that provide a legal framework for these harsh actions.”If the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] continues on its current trajectory, the population will be subjected to more suffering, brutal repression and fear,” said UN Head of Human Rights Volker Turk in a statement.North Korea’s diplomatic mission in Geneva and its embassy in London have not commented on the report.Editor’s Choice: K-Pop Giant Park Jin Young Appointed to South Korea’s Minister-Level Cultural RoleClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News North Korea Executes Citizens for Watching K-Pop, K-Dramas: UN Reports Reporter Dewi Rina Cahyani September 13, 2025 | 02:55 pm TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – North Korea has been tightening its grip on its citizens for the past decade. As reported by Al Jazeera, over the past decade, North Korea has executed people for sharing foreign TV dramas, including South Korean dramas or K-dramas and K-pop, according to a United Nations report.The UN’s Office of Human Rights stated on Friday, September 12, 2025, that state-sponsored repression under the Kim Jong Un regime has caused North Korea to develop with suffering, oppression, and increasing fear over the past decade. Kim Jong Un has ruled with absolute power for seven decades. “No other population is under such restrictions in today’s world,” concluded the UN report, which was based on interviews with over 300 witnesses and escapees from the country. According to the source, freedom of speech in North Korea is eroding. North Korea Executes Citizens for Watching K-Pop, K-Dramas: UN Reports Reporter Dewi Rina Cahyani September 13, 2025 | 02:55 pm TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – North Korea has been tightening its grip on its citizens for the past decade. As reported by Al Jazeera, over the past decade, North Korea has executed people for sharing foreign TV dramas, including South Korean dramas or K-dramas and K-pop, according to a United Nations report.The UN’s Office of Human Rights stated on Friday, September 12, 2025, that state-sponsored repression under the Kim Jong Un regime has caused North Korea to develop with suffering, oppression, and increasing fear over the past decade. Kim Jong Un has ruled with absolute power for seven decades. “No other population is under such restrictions in today’s world,” concluded the UN report, which was based on interviews with over 300 witnesses and escapees from the country. According to the source, freedom of speech in North Korea is eroding. North Korea Executes Citizens for Watching K-Pop, K-Dramas: UN Reports Reporter Dewi Rina Cahyani September 13, 2025 | 02:55 pm TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – North Korea has been tightening its grip on its citizens for the past decade. As reported by Al Jazeera, over the past decade, North Korea has executed people for sharing foreign TV dramas, including South Korean dramas or K-dramas and K-pop, according to a United Nations report.The UN’s Office of Human Rights stated on Friday, September 12, 2025, that state-sponsored repression under the Kim Jong Un regime has caused North Korea to develop with suffering, oppression, and increasing fear over the past decade. Kim Jong Un has ruled with absolute power for seven decades. “No other population is under such restrictions in today’s world,” concluded the UN report, which was based on interviews with over 300 witnesses and escapees from the country. According to the source, freedom of speech in North Korea is eroding.
Source: en.tempo.co
