North Korea is known for its weird laws and stringent punishment for even common activities like wearing jeans. Smuggling is illegal too but in a bizarre incident selling copies of the South Korean survivor drama series- Squid Game-put many in trouble.
1 Killed, 7 Got Severe Punishment For Watching Squid Game
via:variety
A local source told Radio Free Asia about the case where Surveillance Bureau Group 109 caught 7 high-school students for watching the illegal material. All of them got access to the Squid Game series through a friend in school who brought it.
They are under custody and now facing punishment none have ever thought of. One of the students who brought the copies is sentenced to death. Six others watching the Squid Game along with him are put behind the bars for around 5 years.
Also Read: Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Netflix Original – ‘Squid Game’
via:cnet
They will have to work as labor in remote mines for this duration. Even the authorities of schools including teachers are suspended and sent to mines. All are punished under a new law ‘Eliminating Reactionary Thought and Culture’ as per which watching media from capitalist countries are subject to the death penalty as per the RFA report. America and South Korea are the major countries banned under it.
Media and anything that disturbs the culture and environment of North Korea is illegal in the country. Officials ensure that nothing enters the borders without escaping them. This gave smugglers a chance to sell pirated copies of the show via USB and SD Cards.
However, one who brought it was identified and captured by officials. A firing squad has killed that person to death as per the report in Radio Free Asia. It does not end there and the incident has started a wave of investigation which would directly affect students’ education and locals.