North Korean Teens Sentenced to Hard Labor for Watching South Korean TV Dramas

Rare video footage reveals public shaming and sentencing, amid a reported surge in defectors in 2023.

Two North Korean teenagers have been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for watching South Korean TV dramas, as shown in a rare video footage from inside the secretive state.
The video, which was provided by a think tank that works with defectors, shows the teenagers being publicly shamed and chastised by uniformed officers in a stadium full of people.
North Korea has a policy of punishing citizens, including imprisoning them for long periods, for interacting with any form of South Korean culture.
The number of defectors from North Korea nearly tripled in 2023, according to South Korea.
The video is believed to be used as a threat to North Koreans to stop them from sharing and watching South Korean entertainment.