North Korean Man sentenced to Death For Selling Copies of Squid Game

An unidentified North Korean man has been sentenced to death for smuggling and selling copies of Squid Game, and several other people have been subjected to severe punishments for distributing and watching the series.

It’s illegal to own, watch, or distribute Squid Game in North Korea because the government believes that the movie mirrors an “unequal society where the strong exploit the weak” and shows the “beastly” character of the “South Korean capitalist society where mankind is annihilated by extreme competition.”

However, “Radio Free Asia” an American news media outlet that focuses on North Korean news, recently reported that copies of Squid Game had been smuggled into North Korea on USB drives and SD cards and the man who is said to have smuggled in the show has been sentenced to death by a firing squad.

Sources told RFA that a North Korean student who purchased the USB drive has been given a life sentence, while six others who watched the show must serve five years of hard labour. Teachers and administrators at the school have been fired, expected from the Workers’ Party, and could end up being exiled to work in remote mines.

“This all started last week when a high school student secretly bought a USB flash drive containing the South Korean drama Squid Game and watched it with one of his best friends in class. The friend told several other students, who became interested, and they shared the flash drive with them.” a source in the country told the American media Outlet.

Government censors received a tip, and the students were arrested.

Aside from the squid game, it is illegal for North Korean citizens to watch the show—or any South Korean TV program. International media, especially the influence of free-market South Korean culture, appears to be viewed as a threat to the ruling power in North Korea.

Last year, the country passed legislation dubbed the “Law on the Elimination of Reactionary Thought and Culture,” which can result in the death penalty for watching, owning, or distributing media from capitalist countries such as South Korea and the U.S.

Earlier this year, another man is believed to have been executed for violating the same legislation by selling illegal CDs and USBs filled with South Korean music and TV shows.