For listening to K-pop, a 22-year-old was publicly executed in North Korea

The North Korean government sentenced a 22-year-old man to death and publicly executed him for listening to and sharing K-pop music. The authorities of that country have harsh repression against foreign information and culture.

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Although the execution was scheduled for 2022, it was not until last Thursday, June 27, that it became known, thanks to a report from South Korea.

A source reported that the young man, from Hwanghae province, He listened to 70 South Korean songs, watched three movies and distributed them, for which he was blamed.

In North Korea, K-pop was banned in order, according to the regime, to protect citizens from the “malign influence” of Western culture and its allies. This decision to ban foreign music was taken by the late former president Kim Jong-il, father of Kim Jong-un, the current dictator.

This news came after a report on human rights in North Korea gave details of what happened. The study was carried out by the Ministry of Unification of South Korea, according to the digital media El Tribuno.

In the report, 649 North Korean defectors gave testimony about what their life was like before fleeing their home country.

In 2020, Kim Jong-un adopted a strict stance regarding Western culture, and established a new law banning “reactionary ideology and cultures.” This is the case of the 22-year-old executed for listening to K-pop.

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