In North Korea, watching foreign films and TV shows is getting people executed by firing squad

At least six new laws have been introduced since 2015 that allow for the penalty to be handed out. One crime which can now be punished by death is the watching and sharing of foreign media content such as films and TV dramas, as Kim Jong Un works to successfully limit people’s access to information.

Escapees told UN researchers that from 2020 onwards there had been more executions for distributing foreign content. They described how these executions are carried out by firing squads in public to instil fear in people and discourage them from breaking the law.

James Heenan, head of the UN human rights office for North Korea, told reporters in Geneva that executions for both political and ordinary crimes have increased since the Covid-19 restrictions. “An unspecified number of people have already been executed under the new laws for distributing foreign TV series, including popular K-dramas,” he said, according to Reuters.

The report added that surveillance has expanded with new technologies and that restrictions make North Korea the most tightly controlled country in the world. It follows a 2014 UN inquiry that found crimes against humanity had been committed.

Heenan, speaking from Seoul, also said children are sometimes forced into labour brigades in coal mines and construction. “They’re often children from the lower level of society, because they can’t bribe their way out of it,” he explained.

North Korea has rejected the UN resolution authorising the report.