After winning fans and BTS ARMYs around the world, South Korean music, films and dramas are now captivating North Koreans. Kim Jong-un called it a “vicious cancer.”
But even a dictator might struggle to hold back the tide. nyti.ms/3izjeg0
But even a dictator might struggle to hold back the tide. nyti.ms/3izjeg0
In recent months, Kim Jong-un and North Korean media have railed against “anti-socialist and nonsocialist” influences. But behind closed doors, South Korean entertainment is widely popular, smuggled in on flash drives and stealing the hearts of North Koreans who watch in secret.
The influence of South Korean pop culture in the North goes beyond songs and movies. Women in North Korea, for example, are supposed to call their dates “comrade.” Instead, many have started calling them “oppa,” or honey. Kim has called the language “perverted.” 
North Korea enacted a new law calling for five to 15 years in labor camps for people who watch or possess South Korean entertainment, according to lawmakers in Seoul and documents smuggled out by Daily NK, a Seoul-based website. nyti.ms/3wr7eRT
Jung Gwang-il, a North Korean defector, now smuggles K-pop and K-dramas into the country. A current favorite, he says, is “Crash Landing on You,” a drama about a paragliding South Korean heiress who gets swept across the border and falls in love with a North Korean army officer.
Computers, phones, music players and notebooks are now being searched for South Korean content and accents, according to North Korean government documents smuggled out by Asia Press. People who put material in the hands of North Koreans can even face the death penalty.
Read the full story.
nyti.ms/3wr7eRT
nyti.ms/3wr7eRT
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
