Two teenage boys in North Korea on Thursday have been handed a 12-year sentence of hard labour for the simple act of watching K-dramas.
The BBC reports that the incident unfolded in an open-air stadium, where the boys were visibly restrained with handcuffs in front of a crowd of students.
K-drama, an abbreviation for Korean drama, refers to television series produced in South Korea, with the mentioned series believed to be filmed in 2022.
A narrator in the accompanying video condemned the influence of what was described as the “The rotten puppet regime’s culture has spread even to teenagers. They are just 16 years old, but they ruined their own future,” BBC reports.
North Korea currently maintains a strict ban on South Korean entertainment, including television shows.
This incident underscores the severity of consequences individuals may face for defying the ban and indulging in K-dramas, which enjoy widespread popularity globally, including in countries like Nigeria.
In 2022, one of the most-watched series on Netflix Nigeria is “Alchemy of Souls,” a Korean drama.