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

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.”

“Crash Landing on You” is one of the South Korean series that is watched secretly in North Korea. It tells the unlikely love story of a South Korean heiress (Yoon Se-ri, played by Son Ye-jin) with a North Korean officer (Ri Jeong-hyuk, played by Hyun Bin). Photo Lim Hyo-seon/Netflix

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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Logo The Economist (London)

A major British press institution, The Economist, founded in 1843 by a Scottish hatter, is the bible for anyone interested in international news. Openly liberal, it generally advocates free trade, globalization, immigration, and cultural liberalism. It is printed in six countries, and 85% of its sales are outside the UK.

None of the articles are signed: a long-standing tradition that the weekly supports with the idea that “personality and collective voice matter more than the individual identity of journalists.”

On The Economist website, in addition to the newspaper's main articles, you'll find excellent thematic and geographical reports produced by The Economist Intelligence Unit, as well as multimedia content, blogs , and a calendar of conferences organized by the newspaper around the world. As a bonus: regular updates of the main stock market prices.

The magazine's coverage may vary between editions (UK, Europe, North America, Asia), but the content is the same; in the UK, however, a few additional pages cover national news. The Economist is 43.4% owned by the Italian Agnelli family, with the remaining stake being shared among prominent British families (Cadbury, Rothschild, Schroders, etc.) and members of the editorial staff.

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