2 Teens Sent to 12-Yr Hard Labour in North Korea for Watching K-Pop

Two teenagers were sentenced to 12 years of ‘hard labour’ in North Korea for watching K-pop. This was revealed by a video clip released by South and North Development (SAND) Institute, an organisation that works with North Korean defectors. This video shows North Korean authorities publicly sentencing the two teenagers for watching videos of the South Korean music group K-pop.

The punished teens were aged 16 years. They were publicly convicted of watching South Korean movies and music videos. This footage was first reported by the BBC.

North Korea imposes tough punishment on anyone caught enjoying South Korean entertainment.

It is suspected that this video clip was edited around 2022. The video, made by North Korean authorities, shows a large public trial in which the two handcuffed students before a crowd of about 1,000 students in an amphitheatre. All of them wear are wearing face masks, suggesting the footage was shot during the COVID pandemic.

The students were convicted and punished for watching and spreading South Korean movies, music and music videos over three months. The video also showed some young girls being handcuffed.

North Korea and democratic South Korea are technically still at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce. They are separated by a heavily fortified demilitarized zone (DMZ).