Daily NK, a North Korean media outlet, reported that North Korean youths in their 20s who watched South Korean dramas such as 'Penthouse' were sentenced to more than 10 years of hard labor.
Daily NK, citing an insider inside North Korea, reported that on the 3rd, a public trial was held for four people in their 20s, including Choi Mo, who was caught watching a South Korean drama at the stadium in Pyongsong, South Pyongan Province.
Choi and others were accused of watching Korean dramas until late in the evening to commemorate Choi's birthday on the 25th of last month.
Daily NK reported that the USB and SD card they were found possessed contained about 30 South Korean movies and dramas, music videos, etc., but also included the SBS drama Penthouse.
The public trial was held in an atmosphere of fear in which four people, including Choi, were dragged out with shackles in their hands. Choi was sentenced to 12 years of reform through labor and the other three were sentenced to 11 and 10 years of reform through labor. said.
North Korea has recently been emphasizing the eradication of non-socialism, and at the end of last year, by enacting the Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act, the punishment for distributing South Korean video clips was up to the death penalty, and the punishment for viewing was up to 15 years of reform through labor.