North Korean Youth Risk Harsh Punishment to Access Outside Media

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (R) and his daughter, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 18. 2023. AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

Young North Koreans are quietly defying censorship laws by consuming foreign music and other media, offering hope for change in one of the world’s most secretive and repressive nations, emissaries of the South Korean government say.

They shared that assessment during a forum on human rights in North Korea held in Washington on April 20, emphasizing both the bleak picture of life in that country and asking for Western support for young change agents.

The South Korean Ministry of Unification published the 2023 North Korean Human Rights Report in March, which documented the situation in that country based on eyewitness reports of more than 500 defectors, according to Cho Hyun-dong, ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States.

Pedestrians walk past banners near the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, on May 20, 2022. Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images

“The report makes it clear that the DPRK regime is denying civil and political rights through torture and inhumane treatment, arbitrary arrest, and disregard for the right to privacy and free movement,” Cho said, using the acronym for North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“They are denying economic, social, and cultural rights by depriving people of proper health care and access to food and education, rather than protecting the most vulnerable.”

Censorship Laws

The ruling regime is also tightening its ideological hold on its people through a series of censorship laws, according to Park Jin, foreign minister of the Republic of Korea, who addressed the forum by video.

“In recent years, [North Korea] has adopted a series of laws such as the Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act and the Pyongyang Cultural Language Protection Act. These laws strictly forbid contact with a proliferation of outside information,” Park said.

Penalties for violating those codes are harsh, according to Lee Shin-wha, South Korea’s ambassador-at-large for international cooperation on North Korean human rights.

“The regime blocks the flow of information through strict laws and harsh punishment, including the death penalty, for simply watching and distributing so-called illegal content,” Lee said.

That content includes South Korean movies and music and the use of South Korean dialect.

However, the laws are much less effective in controlling the younger generation, who question the need for cultural protection, according to Lee.

“They are not like their parents, even though they have been hardened by crackdowns and controls,” she said.

“Their reaction to censorship is, ‘I just need to be more careful.’”

Younger North Koreans simply continue consuming foreign media but hide it from friends to avoid exposure.

The K-pop boy band BTS visit the "Today" show in New York on Feb. 21, 2020. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

“The tight control imposed by these laws is clear evidence that capitalist culture is already deeply rooted in North Korean society. It shows that the region considers information flow to be the most serious security threat,” Lee said.

Change Agents

At the same time, conditions in the country are worsening, experts say. This is, in part, due to the effect of COVID-19, but the pandemic has also been used as leverage to further isolate the country.

Hunger is widespread, and the nation’s food gap is estimated at 850,000 metric tons, according to U.S. government figures, meaning that the country must import 15 to 25 percent of its food supply each year.

Citizens don’t have the right to leave the country freely, and those who are permitted to work in other countries are required to give up to 90 percent of their earnings to the government, Lee told the forum audience.

Despite the hardships, she’s hopeful that the next generation can bring change to their country. She insists that Westerners not see North Koreans only as victims.

“These young people have the power to use their voice, and these people can have a future designed differently,” Lee said.

“The international community should let North Korea know we are here to help them improve their basic right to food, right to know, and freedom to choose. But at the very same time, I would like to let them know they have the capacity to change.”