N.Korea Executes 3 Teenagers for Watching S.Korean TV Shows

North Korea executed three high school students in early October for watching South Korean TV dramas and disseminating them to others, according to North Korean sources.

The North passed a law in December of 2020 sentencing people to death for distributing South Korean media content and was apparently determined to make an example of the teenagers.

The sources said the three high school students from Hyesan, Ryanggang Province near the Chinese border had gathered to watch several South Korean TV dramas and were caught sharing them with their classmates.

"The law was already in effect, and at the orders of the central government to sound the alarm, the perpetrators were executed even though they were still in high school," one source said.

Meanwhile, law enforcement officers gathered in an organized rally in Pyongyang and vowed to crack down on ideological offenses. Until then, such offenses had resulted only in fines or short stints with labor gangs.

But North Koreans are still watching South Korean content. According to a report by Unification Media last month, some 96 percent of North Koreans watch South Korean dramas like "Squid Game" and "Crash Landing on You" as well as other foreign programs.