These series that North Koreans watch at the risk of their lives

More than 80% of North Korean defectors watched South Korean series before choosing exile. The Pyongyang regime is not mistaken, threatening the firing squad for anyone caught in possession of such series, reports the British weekly “The Economist.”
In most countries, good television isn't expensive. A monthly Netflix subscription costs less than a takeout pizza. In North Korea, however, a good series can cost you your life.
The 2020 Anti-Reactionary Thought Law prohibits any North Korean from consuming, possessing, or distributing “the ideology and corrupt culture of hostile forces,” including K-dramas, K-pop , and South Korean books, drawings, and photographs.
Penalties for violators range from forced labor to detention camps and death. Human rights groups report several executions. In 2022, a 22-year-old farmer was executed for listening to 70 South Korean songs and watching three South Korean movies, which he had shared with his friends.
This risk, however, does not prevent North Koreans from avidly watching K-dramas. According to a survey conducted by the South Korean Ministry of Unification , from 2016 to 2020, 83% of defectors had watched them before fleeing the country. The rate may not be as high among other North Koreans. However, Kang Gyu-ri, who fled in 2023, confides in talking about it
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