A man who smuggled copies into North Korea of ??copies of Netflix's hit "Squid Game" has been sentenced to death after authorities caught high school students watching the show, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA).
The US-based independent news agency RFA reported, citing sources, that the series had been taken from China via USB devices and that the runner would be sentenced to death by the firing squad.
"A student who bought the series was sentenced to life in prison, while six others who attended the show were sentenced to five years of hard labor and teachers and school administrators were fired and face deportation for working in remote mines," he reported. RFA.
In December 2020, North Korea passed the "Elimination of Reactionary Thought and Culture" act, which bans the entry and distribution of cultural materials such as movies, shows, music and books. The act is primarily aimed at preventing the spread of ideas from South Korea and the US and those found to be disseminating or consuming them may be punished.
According to widespread reports, in April of this year a man was publicly executed for selling CDs containing South Korean material.
The RFA (via Variety) report suggests that there is great public anxiety about the fate of high school students and that more people may be involved in the investigation. Netflix is ??not available in China, but "Squid Game" has been widely hacked, according to reports.
Note:North Korea is ruled by the Kim Dynasty, which has been in power since 1948. North Korea functions as a centralized, one-party state. Kim Jong-un is the supreme leader of the country and heads all governing structures. Under North Korea's constitution, there are three main branches of government: the State Affairs Committee, the Supreme People's Assembly, and the North Korean Cabinet. Once upon a time, South Korea and North Korea were a single nation, which was invaded by Japan in 1910. The nation split into two parts during World War II in 1945 and was involved in the Korean War in 1950-1953. North Korea is a one-party communist state, while South Korea operates with three main branches of government: the executive, the legislature and the judiciary.
