7 People Executed in Public for Watching K-POP

Seven people have been publicly executed in North Korea in the past 10 years for watching and disseminating South Korean popular music videos (K-Pop).

The specifics of North Korea's public executions were addressed in a report by the Transitional Justice Working Group, a South Korean human rights organization. According to the New York Times, the report is the product of the organization's investigation that began in 2015. The organization questioned 638 persons who had crossed the border from North Korea as part of the investigation.

According to the report, 638 people who had crossed the border from North Korea were interviewed by the organization, and the inquiry gave clear information on the location of the killings and the number of people killed.

The report counts the number of persons executed in public in North Korea for various offences during the last 10 years. It includes details on seven persons who were executed for listening to K-Pop. A guy was publicly hung, according to the report, for allegedly selling videos of South Korean music albums, movies, and series.

Locals had been informed of the execution advance, according to the article. In 2013, a lady told investigators that she took 20 women from her neighborhood to see a public execution.

The report also includes details of several other executions. On allegations of having ties to an enemy state, a guy was hung for allegedly assisting North Koreans in crossing the border. Another was hanged for unlawfully entering the border. In 2012, 23 individuals were executed in public for prostitution, human trafficking, murder, and other crimes.

According to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, South Korean cultural forms, especially K-Pop, are "satanic acts" that poison the minds of their people. As a result, viewing and disseminating K-pop has been declared prohibited.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, watch a performance at the Mansudae Art Theater in Pyongyang
Photo Credit: The Japan Times

Following negotiations with the North Korean president in 2018, well-known South Korean K-pop singers performed in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. President Kim was among the dignitaries that attended the ceremony. Kim was delighted and welcomed K-pop music with open arms. The North Korean media, on the other hand, portrayed it as a watershed moment in the country's culture.